Toilet roll shortages likely as industry ‘unprepared’ for EU deforestation rules

Toilet roll shortages are looming as the tissue industry is unprepared for new EU rules which look to ban products linked to deforestation.

Cheeky Panda CEO Chris Forbes, who runs an organic toilet roll company, told The Grocer that the laws set to take effect from May, will have a “gigantic effect” on the industry.

“There will definitely be a squeeze on availability and we can expect the price of recycled tissue to rise as demand for alternatives increases.”

The new laws will affect wood as well as coffee, soy and cocoa and require companies trading these commodities to follow a strict process, with an 18 month implementation period for larger firms and a 24 month period for smaller to medium sized businesses.

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Many companies currently rely on raw materials such as virgin fibres made from newly harvested trees, which could see some suppliers having to “spend billions of pounds on operational transformation.”

“It will be hard to switch operations overnight,” Forbes said, adding that “they would probably spend more money lobbying to change the legislation than making those changes.”

However, some brands, like Cheeky Panda use alternative natural sources to wood, including bamboo.

According to a recent study by finance company MSCI, “preparedness does not appear to be high” as less than 40% of businesses in the paper industry have a deforestation policy.

In its ‘Cutting deforestation: Market restrictions get real’ paper, MSCI researchers added: “Firms that have been thinking of deforestation as an issue for somebody else or someday down the road, may have to get a handle on it and in a hurry.”