Bamboo is still an unfamiliar resource for many people, though consumers can already find it in a variety of things, from wood flooring, furniture, and clothing to paper. Hardwood trees take decades to mature while bamboo only takes three to six years, which makes it a great candidate for disposable paper products like toilet paper. Toilet-paper brand Marcal, known as an inexpensive budget brand, rebranded in 2010 to let everyone know that they have always been eco-friendly. They source paper from the “ urban jungle” of New York’s recycling program. Though being low-budget and environmentally friendly may have been a coincidence, we welcome it; however, it may or may not come at the cost of softness.

Quilted Northern Ultra Plush Toilet Paper with Sweet Lilac

Absorbency: How much can it absorb? Better absorbency means less sheets necessary and ultimately a better value.While we didn’t find that the single-ply construction bad when we doubled or tripled the number of sheets per wipe, Scott 1000 is a bit of an eclectic choice amongst the competition. It definitely wins in value and eco-friendliness, but is resolutely off-trend when it comes to the luxury game. Charmin Ultra Soft Mega bathroom tissue is exactly what the branding suggests — it is among the softest in the class. But Charmin has other notable attributes as well. For example, this paper's strength, effectiveness, and absorption scores are all well above average in a very competitive class. It's worth noting that the Ultra Soft's absorption results set the bar for the rest of our test lineup. More than being high quality, this TP offers consumers good value as well.

Quilted Northern Ultra Plush® Toilet Paper with Sweet Lilac

Rubbing a single square of toilet paper over a cast iron pan helped us test for strength and durability. How We Tested Toilet Paper As one would expect from a softer tissue, the breakage and lint factor is higher which explains some point loss in our tester surveys. Quilted Northern just may be too delicate for more aggressive wiping techniques, working better for those with a lighter, dabbing method. In addition, users may need more sheets to compensate for linting, even though it scores very high in absorption. However, there is nothing more luxurious than excess. We were surprised to find that Silk’n Soft performed quite well for an “alternative” toilet paper. In a blind test, we were unable to tell which was made of bamboo. The biggest difference was that the perforation was tougher than the rest. Matching Quilted Northern’s three-plies, it was surprisingly soft for how hardy it was. We split our testing into two main components: Lab Tests and User Test Surveys. Lab tests consist of objective measurements and grading to test for physical quality of each brand. Our surveyors took the rolls into real life testing, collecting a swath of subjective scores from our panel. Lab tests

From The Manufacturer

It scored only half a point below Angel Soft for comfort. Considering such a small margin, the payoff of saving trees and saving the environment from chloride bleach (and its resulting dioxins) is worth it in our eyes. Value: Do you feel like you’re getting a good deal? Anything from roll size, sheer size to absorbency may affect your perceived value.

Quilted Northern Ultra PlushToilet Paper, 24 Mega Rolls = 96 Quilted Northern Ultra PlushToilet Paper, 24 Mega Rolls = 96

Kimberly-Clark, the makers of Cottonelle and Scott products, boasts about their signature ripple texture and claims it cleans more effectively. They use a patented technology that dries paper without embossing or compressing it, allowing the paper to retain its ripples when wet. Recycled paper vs. new paper pulp Charmin Ultra Soft is the best of both worlds - it's soft and strong. You'll feel comfortable and won't have to worry about a mess on your hands. Is it FSC Certified?: If you prefer regular toilet paper from virgin paper sources, look for a stamp of approval from the Forest Stewardship Council. They uphold strict standards to ensure that manufacturing is socially and environmentally responsible. This certification may increase cost up to 20%, though in our line-up, the only FSC-Certified brand is budget-friendly Scott – 1000. The bottom lineThis roll has more of an industrial feel, a little more of a “starched” and compressed look. The embossed pattern appears sharp and uniform, the edges sturdy and crisp. It’s horizontally striated in waves, much lighter in depth than Cottonelle’s signature ripples. Overlapping circle patterns add a clean and uniform look. The texture is slightly more papery than Cottonelle and Quilted Northern, giving it a stronger impression overall. The chlorine dioxide bleach used to process virgin-paper varieties is notoriously harmful to the environment, ranking in the top 10% of hazardous compounds in the US. While there are countless articles about the toxicity of chlorine in virgin paper products, we could not find an exact figure for how much of it is left in the final product.

Quilted Northern® Ultra Plush® 3 Ply Toilet Paper | Quilted

I also ran the rolls through a number of objective tests to score them for strength and durability. To accomplish this, I rubbed one square of each roll against coarse surfaces, including a cast iron skillet and rough outdoor carpet. I took note of any piling, residue, or tears that were caused by a normal amount of pressure against the coarse surfaces. One of the most common sizes for a sheet of toilet paper is 4.5 x 4.5 inches. That said, the size of a sheet of toilet paper is shrinking, and you can now frequently find them up to a half-inch shorter. Charmin – Ultra Strong came in second in our tester surveys, only a few points ahead of Quilted Northern. In our lab tests, it scored the highest average of both wet and dry lint tests, one of the most desired characteristics according to our testers. This continues the trend of our testers preferring strength over softness. Again, we couldn’t find any formal statements about formaldehyde-urea resins or newer PAE compounds that release by-products like MCPDs. Solenis explains in technical detail the development of “wet strength resin” used in the papermaking process to strengthen wet paper, and it seems clear that PAE has replaced formaldehyde-urea as the resin of choice, but that just means there are new byproducts to be monitored.Lots of toilet paper brands claim to be super plush, but nothing we've tested or tried comes close to the softness of Charmin. Both our consumer testers and specialized lab equipment designed to measure softness ranked it the softest in a blind comparison test. The two-ply construction was also strong overall and stood out in particular for having the highest strength when wet, so you don't have to worry about it crumbling while in use.