Toilet paper rolls and green leaves on wooden table near white brick wall

Green Seal recently announced it is opening public comment on a leadership standard for sanitary paper products that contain no virgin tree fiber and meet meaningful manufacturing and packaging sustainability requirements.

Long a leader in certifying 100-percent recycled fiber products, the ecolabel’s proposed standard now also includes a certification pathway for tree-free products, expanding opportunities for brands that produce responsibly sourced alternative-fiber sanitary paper to verify their sustainability leadership.

Green Seal developed its new standard in collaboration with the leading towel and tissue brands, purchasers and policy advocates in its Working Group to promote industry alignment on meaningful claims and criteria for this product category. See the Working Group members here.

“Buyers trust Green Seal-certified sanitary paper products because they significantly reduce carbon emissions, protect ancient and endangered forests, and preserve water resources,” said Doug Gatlin, CEO of Green Seal. “Our new standard maintains this leadership bar while growing market impact by inviting a broader group of manufacturers to verify their sustainability achievement.”

Americans consume an average total of 19.2 billion pounds a year of sanitary paper products such as toilet paper, paper towels, and facial tissue. The fiber composition of these products has a significant impact on their overall environmental footprint. For example, products made from virgin fiber can generate three times as many CO2 emissions as products made from other types of pulp. 

By meeting stringent fiber sourcing and manufacturing criteria, Green Seal-certified sanitary paper products save an average of 30.5 billion gallons of water and 11.7 million metric tons of CO2 emissions a year – the equivalent of taking 2.8 million cars off the road.

Sanitary paper products certified to Green Seal’s standard meet the environmentally preferable purchasing requirements of a host of states, local governments, K-12 schools, colleges, and the federal government. Additionally, products certified to the standard qualify for points in the LEED v4.1 green building standard and qualify for Amazon Climate Pledge Friendly program. 

Public comment on Green Seal’s proposed criteria is open through April 28th, 2025. Learn more about Green Seal’s sanitary paper product standard and submit comments here.