Here at Oceans, we care about the planet and want to ensure our toilet paper is the most eco-friendly it can be. That’s why we’ve chosen to make it 100% plastic-free. All the wrapping we use is made from 100% FSC certified paper and cardboard so you can reuse it or just pop it in the recycling. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
But, whether you’re new on the journey to being more green, or an established eco-fiend, sometimes all the sustainability terms thrown around in our world can be a bit confusing. That’s why we’ve put together a comprehensive A-Z with all the most commonly used ‘green’ terms and what they mean.
A
Atmosphere – everything in the sky before you get to space. It’s filled with gases and water that make clouds but also regulate the Earth’s temperature.
B
Biodegradable– an object that breaks down over time and thereby avoids pollution.
C
Carbon footprint – the amount of carbon dioxide emissions created by a person, product or business. The less carbon dioxide we produce, the happier our planet is! That’s why we manufacture Oceans toilet paper & kitchen roll in the UK from UK-based materials – to keep our carbon footprint low.
Climate change – a change in the global climate due to increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Composting – the breaking down of natural substances (such as toilet paper tubes) into compost which can be used to grow stuff.
Cruelty-free – products that are manufactured in ways that do not involve animals. At Oceans, we’re not just cruelty-free, we work hard to protect marine animals too.
D
Deforestation – the removal of trees for their timber or to make room for something.
E
Eco-friendly – a term used to describe a product or person that has a positive impact on the environment.
Ethically made – this means paying your suppliers and staff fair wages, as well as ensuring they have a safe working environment. We source our materials from, and make Oceans toilet paper in, the UK so we can guarantee we take care of our staff and the planet.
F
FSC – stands for the Forest Stewardship Council. The FSC is a global body in charge of protecting our forests. Protecting our forests is important to us so we’ve made sure to only use 100% FSC accredited materials for Oceans toilet paper.
G
Green living – a lifestyle that seeks to limit harm to the environment.
Greenhouse gas – these are gases that trap the heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. By adding more greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide) to the atmosphere, we’re slowly heating up the planet.
H
Habitat – where a living thing lives. These habitats need protecting, like our oceans.
L
Landfill – a site where waste is buried underground.
M
Marine life – we mention marine animals a lot round here. That ‘s because we’re on a mission to protect the oceans from plastic pollution (see below).
Marine Conservation Society – the MCS are a charity that protect our seas, shores and wildlife. We love what these guys do so much that we donate with every pack sold to help them with their work.
Microplastics – teeny tiny pieces of plastic (usually less than 5mm in length). Microplastics are often so small that they can’t be picked up by water filtration systems and find their way into our oceans.
O
Oceans – very big ponds that are sometimes home to sharks.
P
Plastic-free – A product that has absolutely ZERO plastic (just like Oceans toilet paper).
Plastic-pollution – a big (we mean HUGE) amount of plastic that is harming the environment like the plastic in our oceans.
R
Recycle – this simply means converting your rubbish or old things into a usable material. The council normally collects your recycling for you, as long as you remember to take the bins out!
Renewable energy – this green energy comes from natural sources that won’t run out, like wind, waves and sunshine.
S
Single-use plastic – a plastic product that is only used once before being disposed of.
Sustainability – maintaining a healthy environment by balancing what we use. For example, if you chopped down a tree, the sustainable thing to do would be to plant another tree.
T
Toilet roll – did we mention Oceans toilet paper is eco-friendly?
Threatened species – an animal or plant that is declining in numbers, normally because of human activity.
U
Upcycle – repurposing an object to create something better than original (and saving it from going to landfill).
V
Vegan – a diet which excludes all animal products like eggs, meat, milk, etc.
W
Waste – the stuff we throw in the bin that goes to landfill.
Z
Zero waste – a product or way of life that produces no waste products.
Phew! Now you’ve made it through our eco-friendly sustainability jargon buster, the next thing to do is swap your standard toilet paper to Oceans plastic-free toilet paper.