It doesn’t matter whether you grab it at Costco or Walmart or whether it’s Cottonelle or Charmin — toilet paper is always white. It hasn't always been that way. In the 1950s, pastels were popular. Homeowners were attracted to colored toilet paper because they could color coordinate their toilet paper with their bathrooms. Popular colors at the time were pink, blue, yellow, green, peach, and black. Unfortunately, there were some unfortunate implications associated with colored toilet paper. Many doctors at the time began to associate it with increased health risks, including skin irritation, cervical cancer, urinary tract infections, rectal issues, and others. Aside from the health issues, dyes didn’t allow toilet paper to decompose as quickly, which meant it was more likely to clog up septic tanks as it was flushed down. While most American producers have since halted production of colored toilet paper, there are still some vendors like Renova who still sell it. Overall, most Americans prefer white toilet paper and believe that adding dyes to it only adds to the cost, which would be like flushing money down the toilet.
