The Real Reason Why Toilet Paper Is White

Toilet paper has a critical job. Although it's an essential bathroom item, thinking about it usually starts and ends with needing to buy or use some. Meanwhile, people spend hours looking for the perfect towel or shower curtain colors for their bathroom, but toilet paper is just plain white. So what got the white toilet paper trend rolling?



How is toilet paper made?

First, it's important to understand how to make toilet paper. Toilet paper is made from cellulose fibers that come either directly from trees or recycled paper, according to Jessica Carette, a chemist and Innovation Manager of Research and Development for the Cascades Tissue Group. The fibers mix with water to make pulp. Toilet paper creation comes in two basic parts: making the raw paper, and converting it to the end product you buy in the store, explains David Altemir, a consultant who works with toilet paper manufacturing plants in the United States. "The raw paper starts as wood pulp just as any other type of paper," he says. Brands bleach wood pulp with hydrogen peroxide or chlorine to make it whiter. This bleaching process is more than aesthetic it removes the substance lignin, too, softening the paper, according to Altemir. 

Why is toilet paper white?

Carette notes that cellulose fibers are also naturally white. The glue holding them together, however, is brown which goes away thanks to bleach, Carette says. So it's not necessarily just the process, but also the raw material that makes toilet paper white. Plus, toilet paper from recycled paper uses mostly office waste or printer paper, which is already white, too, according to Carette. Although bleached virgin pulp produces the softest fibers to make tissue, unbleached and recycled fibers can also make high-quality tissue as well, Carette says. So the white color of toilet paper is more conventional than functional since toilet paper doesn't necessarily have to be white to be soft and absorbent. 

Are there other toilet paper colors?

Although white toilet paper like this is the norm in America, color toilet paper was trendy in the past. In the 1950s, people would even coordinate their toilet paper with their bathroom color scheme. It reportedly died down, however, thanks to concerns about the safety of pastel dyes for the skin and the environment. Plus, color toilet paper increases the cost to make the rolls, Altemir says. Most toilet paper in North America is white because of consumer preference, according to Carette. But in places like South America and Europe, toilet paper comes in a rainbow of colors, even black, she adds. If you want to try adding a pop of color to your bathroom with toilet paper, there's still toilet paper brand Renova that sells various colors for more than the typical white variety. No matter your personal design taste, toilet paper is a must-have.