Toilet roll-off: Naked Paper vs. Andrex

When it comes to good-value toilet paper, UK households have plenty of options. At Naked Paper, we’re proud to see our bleach-free toilet rolls, tissues, and kitchen paper towels in homes up and down the country, and we’re always happy to explain how our products compare to others.

So today we’re looking at the big dog, or big puppy, of the UK loo roll scene: Andrex. 

If you’re just here for the headlines, here they are:

Andrex dates back to 1942, giving it a 78-year head start on Naked Paper. But our bleach-free rolls are ready to win you over to the brown side. Both brands offer soft, strong toilet paper, but there are some differences worth knowing about. 

A note on the comparison: We’re comparing Andrex Family Soft with Naked Paper bamboo and recycled toilet rolls, all two-ply. Prices are per 100 sheets, using best-value packs and subscription discounts where available. The Andrex price is for a 24-roll pack from Tesco. Prices checked on 19 October 2026.

Quality: How are Naked Paper and Andrex different?

First appearances count, so that’s where we’ll start. If you’re a regular Andrex customer and swap your usual roll for Naked Paper, what will stand out?

The first thing is the colour. Naked Paper is made without any bleaching at all. We don’t think changing the natural colour of paper is necessary, so we leave out the extra chemicals and processing that would come with bleach.

Our recycled toilet rolls are a pale shade of brown, like the cardboard boxes and packaging paper we use to make them. Our bamboo rolls are a lighter beige. Andrex Family Soft takes the more conventional approach, with standardised bright white sheets. 

With colour out of the way, what’s next?

Both products have two-ply sheets of tissue, but there’s a big difference in how many of these sheets make a roll: Naked Paper rolls have 320 sheets, compared with Andrex Family Soft’s 170.

Both brands also have an embossing pattern that makes their paper recognisable. The Andrex puppy first appeared in its advertising in 1972, and Family Soft has puppies embossed on every sheet.

We like to think Naked Paper speaks for itself. Since August 2026, our new embossing has been doing that quite literally, with our name picked out in rounded lettering.

So there are some familiar features, alongside differences you’ll notice straight away, when it’s time to stock up your loo. But what about everything that comes before that? 

How Naked Paper is made

From our recycled cardboard cores to our recycled cardboard boxes, we’ve put thought into every part of Naked Paper.

It starts with the raw materials. Andrex lists their toilet tissue as containing up to 80% eucalyptus fibres and don’t currently disclose the remaining 20%. At the time of writing their UK FSC certification has lapsed.

Our raw materials are fully FSC-certified (certificate C109654). We offer bamboo toilet paper as well as recycled toilet paper made from cardboard and packaging collected around our factory.

Beyond those materials, there are a few places where we’re proud to be challenging the standard. 

Public PFAS testing

PFAS are a large group of substances often called “forever chemicals” because of the way they persist in the environment. A 2023 study by University of Florida researchers detected PFAS in toilet paper samples collected from several regions of the world, and examined how toilet paper could introduce them into wastewater systems.

The study did not name the brands tested, so it doesn’t tell us whether Andrex was included or whether its products contain PFAS.

At Naked Paper, we wanted customers to be able to check the evidence for our own rolls, so following the University of Florida study we published independent test results, which you can view on our Green Credentials page today.

Both our bamboo and recycled toilet rolls have been independently tested, with no PFAS detected in those tests.

Dried without fossil fuels

Andrex deserves credit for its progress on renewable electricity. As of 2026, 90% of the electricity used in its UK manufacturing has come from renewable sources. You can find out more about this, and their wider sustainability program, on their website. 

Our factory also uses 100% renewable electricity, from its own solar panels and from small hydroelectric plants. But there’s another important part of the energy picture: heat.

When it comes to powering a tissue factory, electricity is important, but the biggest drain on energy is heat. Drying liquid paper pulp into smooth sheets of tissue requires blasts of air that have been heated to temperatures up to 650°C.

All of our Naked Paper tissue products are dried using renewable biofuels rather than fossil fuels.

Andrex has also made great strides when it comes to heat, investing in green hydrogen for its industrial boilers as an alternative to natural gas. This is absolutely brilliant to see, especially from such an established company. We think the energy that dries your paper deserves as much attention as the fibres that go into it, and it’s great to know we’re not alone. 

But for now, we’re the brand whose paper is dried using 100% renewable heat, without fossil fuels.

No plastic and no bleach

There are a few different ways manufacturers can bleach paper. If you’re interested, we’ve got an overview here. 

At Naked Paper, we leave out the bleaching stage entirely. We don’t think paper needs to be bright white to do its job; brown rolls work just as well, and they don’t come with the extra chemical and processing steps involved in bleaching.

We take a similarly straightforward approach to packaging; Naked Paper’s toilet paper, tissues, and kitchen rolls essentials arrive in recycled cardboard boxes, with no individual wrapping on any of our products.  

This is a break from the standard plastic-wrapped offerings you’ll find in UK supermarkets. Like us, Andrex don’t have unnecessary individual wrappings covering their rolls, but unlike us the outer package is made from plastic.

Affordability: is Naked Paper cheaper than Andrex?

Those are some of the simple changes we’ve introduced as we’ve designed and refined Naked Paper. But for these changes to add up in UK homes, the price needs to make sense, too.

We’ve already mentioned the difference between 320 sheets on a Naked Paper roll and 170 on an Andrex Family Soft roll. That means comparing the price per roll won’t tell you what the same amount of paper costs, so we’ll compare the cost per 100 sheets.

At Naked Paper we offer toilet paper subscriptions as well as one-off purchases. Subscriptions are convenient and because they allow us to plan more efficiently we can offer a 10% discount, so they’re our best value options. 

Andrex doesn’t have subscriptions but their toilet rolls do come at a range of price points, so we’ve compared our most affordable toilet paper from our own website with the best value Andrex you can buy at Tesco. Here’s the current price breakdown:

Using these figures, Naked Paper bamboo costs around 24% less per 100 sheets than Andrex Family Soft. Our recycled option costs around 28% less.

A useful difference for something you always keep stocked up.

So which is better, Naked Paper or Andrex?

The toilet paper that works best in your home will probably come down to personal choice. But if you’re looking for good value alongside a thoughtful approach to materials and manufacturing, we like to think Naked Paper toilet paper has a lot going for it.

Here’s what you get with our rolls:

• 🌿 A choice of bamboo or recycled toilet paper, with responsibly-sourced raw materials.

• 🤎 No bleach, across our entire product range.

• 📦 Plastic-free packaging, without individual roll wrappers.

• ☀️ Renewable electricity and drying heat used to make our products.

• 🔎 Published independent testing, with no PFAS detected in our bamboo and recycled toilet rolls.

• 🧻 320 sheets per roll, with our new embossing designed for a softer feel.

• 💷 A lower cost per 100 sheets.

Our toilet paper is made at a family-run, B Corp-certified factory where everyone is paid a living wage. We share information about the people and processes behind each roll, so you can take a closer look whenever you like.

If that sounds like the kind of roll you’d like in your loo, visit our shop.