Description
Goldeimer is a Hamburg social enterprise that sells recycled toilet paper with the Blauer Engel label and compost toilets for gardens, allotments and camper vans, and puts its profits into sanitation projects.
It started in 2014 as an offshoot of the water charity Viva con Agua, building dry toilets for festivals, and has sold toilet paper since 2016. Goldeimer is a non-profit GmbH in steward ownership: it belongs to its staff, not its founders, can’t be sold, and its statutes bind its money to its charitable purpose. According to its website it has given €156,000 to sanitation projects, among them dry toilets on Lake Atitlán in Guatemala, and it is part of an EU-funded project in the Lüneburg Heath that turns the contents of dry toilets into fertiliser.
The toilet paper is three-ply, made by WEPA in Germany from 100 % recycled paper and printed with mineral-oil-free ink. It is sold in REWE and other shops, and in the online shop, which ships to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The shop also sells compost toilets in several sizes, from a DIY kit to a cabin model, and the bedding to go with them.
Strengths
- The toilet paper carries the Blauer Engel, the German eco-label that requires 100 % recycled fibre.
- Steward ownership and charitable statutes mean the company can’t be sold and profits stay with its purpose.
- Compost toilets save water where there is no mains connection, in gardens, allotments and vans.
Weaknesses
- The online shop delivers only to Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and emptying a compost toilet stays the owner’s job.
- The donation figures come from Goldeimer itself, with no independent check found.
- ÖKO-TEST found traces of halogenated organic compounds in recycled toilet papers in 2020, which come from the waste paper itself.
Who it is for
Households in Germany, Austria and Switzerland who buy recycled toilet paper anyway, and allotment holders or van owners looking for a toilet without water or chemicals.