Toilet Paper, Differently

This post differs slightly from my usual contributions on this website.

For those who might not read to the end, here’s a 15% off referral link for your first order: whogivesacrap.mention-me.com/m/ns/xg6os-dariusz-wieckiewicz

Recently, my wife convinced me to try a company called ‘Who Gives a Crap,’ which offers products like toilet paper, tissues, and kitchen towels. Their products are designed to be either 100% bamboo or 100% recycled, with the following aim:

“50% of profits are donated to help everyone gain access to clean water and a toilet - over £9 million raised to date!”

I’m eager to give it a try, as long as it doesn’t significantly increase our household expenses.

In the past, I considered some advertisements from Modern Milkman, but paying £4.40 for 4 pints of whole milk compared to £1.60 at Lidl didn’t make economic sense. That’s quite a steep difference!

Our household shopping is primarily done at Asda and Lidl, with occasional purchases from other discount brands. Since Lidl is the closest store to where we live, we often buy most of our basic items there. Overall, Lidl maintains a good balance between quality and price.

At Lidl, we discovered our family’s favourite toilet paper, Floralys Quilted Toilet Tissue, which suits most of us well. Our usual choice is the 16-roll pack (3-ply) for just £4.99. To consider switching to a similar quality product, it would need to be priced comparably to convince us.

On Who Gives a Crap (WGaC), I considered purchasing 48 rolls of 100% Recycled Toilet Paper to save on postage and compare it with Lidl’s brand, not only in terms of price but also quality.

Let’s start with the cost comparison.

Cost comparison

When you first use Who Gives a Crap, they offer a £5 discount on your initial subscription order, and the subscription is very flexible.

Before diving into the cost, it’s important to note that a single roll from Who Gives a Crap isn’t equivalent to a Lidl roll.

Their 100% recycled paper roll boasts 400 sheets of 3-ply paper.

Each roll of Floralys Quilted toilet paper contains 160 sheets of 3-ply paper.

Floralys Quilted roll (left) vs Who Gives a Crap Recycled (right)

Lidl cost

• 16 rolls for £4.99
• Each roll has 160 sheets (3-ply).

So total sheets = 16 × 160 = 2,560 sheets.

Cost per sheet = £4.99 ÷ 2,560 ≈ £0.001949 per sheet (about 0.195p).

WGaC rolls are:

• 48 rolls
• Each roll has 400 sheets.

Total sheets = 48 × 400 = 19,200 sheets.

Cost at same sheet price:

19,200 sheets × £0.001949 ≈ £37.40.

That’s the price we would pay for Lidl’s Quilted toilet paper with the same number of sheets.

Who Gives a Crap cost

Spending £39 at once for toilet paper (after a £5 discount on the first subscription order) isn’t appealing to everyone, especially when you can purchase it at Lidl for £4.99 each time.

WGaC at £39 is already more expensive than Lidl at £37.40. Paying the full price of £44 versus £37.40 makes sticking with Lidl an obvious choice if you’re only considering price.

Quality is also crucial and must be carefully considered, but we’ll address that later.

As someone who enjoys seeking additional discounts, I applied a 15% discount code instead of the £5 off my first order, bringing my total to £37.40 at checkout.

Want 15% off your first order? Use this referral link: whogivesacrap.mention-me.com/m/ns/xg6os-dariusz-wieckiewicz

Without yet knowing the quality of the 100% recycled toilet paper, I’ve already matched the price of Lidl’s premium branded paper.

Even with a £39 starting price, it would look like this:

• £39 for 48 rolls
• Each roll = 400 sheets
• Total sheets = 48 × 400 = 19,200 sheets.

Cost per sheet = £39 ÷ 19,200 = £0.00203125 per sheet (about 0.203p).

That’s 0.203p WGaC vs about 0.195p Lidl per sheet.

Let’s calculate the cost: if each roll has 160 sheets and there are 16 rolls, like Lidl’s.

• 16 rolls
• Each roll = 160 sheets
• Total sheets = 16 × 160 = 2,560 sheets.

Cost = 2,560 × £0.00203125 = £5.20 (rounded to nearest penny).

At this stage, WGaC costs just £0.21 more than Lidl.

If we were to pay the full WGaC price of £44, it would look like this:

• Total sheets = 48 × 400 = 19,200 sheets.

• Cost per sheet = £44 ÷ 19,200 = 0.0022916p (about 0.229p per sheet).

• Cost per sheet: ~£0.00229 (0.229p).

• Cost for a 16-roll, 160-sheet pack: ~£5.87

In that scenario, WGaC is £0.88 more expensive than Lidl.

With a flexible subscription, you can receive your next order sooner, delay it, or cancel anytime, so you’re not obligated to stick to a higher price.

The next question is: how does the quality compare?

Quality comparison

The comparison is strictly subjective, relying on personal feelings, opinions, and experiences.

I have ordered my first subscription and initially aimed for repeated orders every 3 months.

The order arrived in a big cardboard box with “Who Gives a Crap” written all over it. It’s a clever piece of intentional advertising that doesn’t cost much. Well done!

Each toilet paper roll in the box is wrapped in a colourful paper sleeve. Although this feature might seem irrelevant, it adds a unique touch to the goods you’ve just purchased. If you have a toilet paper stand in your bathroom, this will introduce a vibrant splash of colour and style to an otherwise typically dull space.

Lids’ toilet paper is packaged in an additional plastic sleeve, which, once opened, ends up in the bin and contributes to the plastic pollution that we are inundated with.

The roll is firmer, thicker, and larger than Lidl’s toilet paper. When you press it down with two fingers, you can easily notice the difference. The Lidl brand squashes like a feather, whereas the WGaC brand is much harder to compress.

This is due to having 400 sheets of 3-ply paper on one roll compared to just 160 sheets.

Yet, despite its initial hardness, the paper is very soft to the touch and surprisingly strong.

Who Gives a Crap (left) vs Floralys Quilted (right)

While the Lidl brand chose a large circular pattern for their paper, which looks better overall, the WGaC paper features a small dotted design.

The paper itself, once the colourful sleeve is removed, doesn’t look particularly appealing and personally reminds me of my childhood days when we collected newspapers, took them to recycling points, and received either a small amount of money or exchanged them for toilet paper. However, the quality of that paper was nowhere near that of WGaC. Back in the late ’80s and early ’90s, your bottom would certainly protest with each use!

Despite its external appearance, the paper is much softer in use and surprisingly strong. The pattern on the paper must be carefully chosen to achieve the optimal balance between strength, appearance, and softness.

When comparing 400 sheets to 160 sheets per roll, you might not immediately notice the difference. However, it becomes apparent how quickly the Lidl rolls disappear compared to those offered by Who Gives a Crap.

While the comparison is quite subjective, you’ll quickly notice from initial use that two sheets are often sufficient, whereas with other brands, you might risk a mess and end up using more sheets to achieve the same result.

I mentioned the stand for toilet paper earlier. If your toilet area is integrated into the same room as your shower or bath, having paper packed individually offers another advantage.

Despite the external sleeve on the paper, it’s easy to fit onto a pole or storage rod. This adds practicality by better protecting the paper against water splashes and the moisture that’s always present in a bathroom.

Wet toilet paper, even slightly damp, loses its softness and strength. It doesn’t look good from a hygiene perspective either. Here, having them individually packed makes more sense, especially since wetting a roll is like losing 2.5 rolls of Lidl-branded paper.

With 400 sheets compared to 160 sheets, that’s exactly 2.5 rolls in one!

Conclusion

Take your time to decide whether to stick with the subscription or return to purchasing from Lidl. Weighing the pros and cons of each option will help you make the best choice for your needs.

Both papers feel comparable, although Who Gives a Crap is slightly stronger. Ultimately, the decision depends on how quickly your household goes through the 48 rolls (which might last more than the initially set three months) and what deal you get on the next delivery.

The jump from £37.40 to £44.00 needs justification. While the price increase isn’t massive, evaluating how effectively this paper lasts compared to the other one is crucial. If it lasts much longer than expected and requires fewer sheets per use, the invisible savings could compensate for the slightly higher price tag.

The great news for anyone wanting to give it a try is that with the referral code, you can get 15% off your first subscription. This makes it cost about the same as buying Lidl Floralys Quilted Toilet Tissue, so it’s a great opportunity to test it out without spending extra.

At £37.40 for 48 rolls with 400 sheets per roll (totalling 19,200 sheets), it’s equivalent to buying 120 rolls of Lidl-branded toilet paper, which is priced at £4.99 for 16 rolls. This comparison highlights the value you get in terms of sheet count for the price.

With 15% off your first subscription order, it’s an appealing option to try and compare to your usual choices: whogivesacrap.mention-me.com/m/ns/xg6os-dariusz-wieckiewicz

You may not save money, but you’ll definitely save storage space.