Bamboo tissue makers are on a roll

Wood pulp tissue is under scrutiny for deforestation, but convincing people to switch to recycled tissue and bidets isn’t easy. Some enterprises see a solution in a humble grass variety.

Sharanya Pillai

Published Fri, May 20, 2022 · 04:00 PM

ESG

PURE white and ultra-soft virgin pulp – this is how tissue has been marketed for ages. So when Cloversoft’s unbleached bamboo tissue launched in 2014, some turned up their noses at its “dirty” brown hue.

“We were questioned, ‘Why are you supplying such dirty paper?’... That was hurtful, but we took it as an opportunity to start explaining to them,” recounts Angela Sim, co-founder and chief executive of Cloversoft.

Co-founder and chief marketing officer Lynn Yeo chimes in: “We realised that the natural colour of bamboo is beautiful; why do we have to turn it white?”