Get to know - Who Gives A Crap
Funny name. Serious business*.
Billions of people in the world don’t have access to a toilet. That’s billions with a B.
Who Gives A Crap started in Melbourne back in 2012, when founders Simon Griffiths, Danny Alexander and Jehan Ratnatunga decided it was high time they did something about it. Something big. They put together what seemed like a pretty solid, 2-ply plan: step one, sell eco-friendly toilet paper directly to our customers. Step two, give away 50% of our profits to charities helping to bring toilets, clean water and sanitation services to the people who need them.
In 2012, we took the plunge with a crowdfunding campaign that featured a live stream of our Simon sitting on a toilet in a draughty warehouse, trousers bunched ‘round his ankles until we’d raised enough pre-orders to start production. Fifty hours and a sore bum later, we topped the $50,000 mark. Our first product dropped in March 2013 and we’ve been on a roll ever since.
*Sort of. We do love a little toilet humour.
What makes a Brand Sustainable?
- A brand that understands and attempts to reduce their carbon footprint
- A brand with an ethical supply chain
- A brand that supports philanthropic initiatives
- A brand that advocates for causes and those in need within their local communities
- A brand that believes in and practices transparency whenever possible
Let’s talk crap
Video Reference: (2023), Uncrap The World With Who Gives A Crap, YouTube
We make eco-friendly toilet paper, tissues and paper towels. Unlike most household paper products, ours are made without trees. Did you know that 27,000 trees are cut down to make toilet paper every single day? Well now you do. Sorry about that, but now you know how we feel.
We donate 50% of our profits to charity partners so they can continue doing the amazing and vital work of building toilets, delivering clean water and improving sanitation in developing countries. Remember that b-word we mentioned up at the top? We’re going to go ahead and say it again — billions of people around the world don’t have access to clean water or a toilet. We’re talking 1 in 3 people. To put it another way: there are currently more people in the world who have mobile phones than toilets.
Not having access to a toilet can have a lot of wide reaching implications outside of the bathroom. Poor sanitation leads to the spread of serious illness, and when people get sick, they can’t work to feed their families. A child under five dies every two minutes from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation, and those who survive often can’t go to school because of illness. Not having access to sanitation isn’t just unpleasant, it’s devastating.
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Who Gives a Crap - Sanitation FACTS
Image Reference: Photo Credit “Who Gives a Crap”, Who Gives a Crap
Sanitation facts
- Billions of people across the world don’t have access to a toilet.
- More people in the world have a mobile phone than a toilet.
- A child under five dies every two minutes from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation.
Environmental facts
- Most toilet paper is made from cutting down virgin trees.
- 27,000 trees are cut down daily to make regular toilet paper.
- Over 75,000 km2 of forests are lost annually, the equivalent of 27 soccer fields every minute.
Quick facts about us
- 50% of profits are donated to help support clean water and sanitation services in developing countries.
- Our toilet paper is available as 100% recycled (boxes of 24 and 48 rolls) and premium 100% bamboo (boxes of 48 rolls).
- We also have 100% bamboo tissues and bamboo blend paper towels.
- To date, we’ve donated over $10m Australian dollars to our charity partners.
- We offer free, carbon neutral delivery on most orders — right to your doorstep.
- Our loo roll is extra looong, so they last, like, forever.
- You can either buy as a one off purchase or become a subscriber. Never get caught with your pants down again!
Who Gives a Crap income and spending
Image Reference: Photo Credit “Who Gives a Crap”, Who Gives a Crap
Image Reference: Photo Credit “Who Gives a Crap”, Who Gives a Crap
How we make our money
We sell most of our products directly to our customers through our website, delivering thousands of boxes every week across Australia, the US and the UK, at sometimes less than half the price of the big retail brands. Then there’s our subscription service, which makes sure our customers never have to worry about running out of toilet paper again.
All this, plus we make sure our TP does good with every wipe. We operate as a profit-for-purpose business, which means we use our profits to continue our foundational mission: to ensure everyone in the world has access to clean water and sanitation services. Clean bums, clean conscience.
How we spend our money
We know how to sell toilet paper. We let the experts build the toilets. To date, Who Gives A Crap has donated over $10 million Aussie dollars to our charity partners at WaterAid, Sanergy, Lwala Community Alliance, Shining Hope For Communities, iDE, Splash and Water For People. They all have deep experience and skill when it comes to implementing high impact sanitation projects throughout the developing world. The more innovative the solutions, the quicker we can help build toilets for the billions who don’t have them.
In a nutshell
Who Gives A Crap makes toilet paper that’s good for the planet, good for people and good for your bum. We’re B Corp™ certified for the highest standards of social and environmental impact. All of our products are made from 100% recycled paper or bamboo and we also donate 50% of profits to help support clean water and sanitation services for the billions of people who don’t have proper access. As you can see, this really isn’t your average toilet paper.
Article Contributor
May (Who Gives A Crap)
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