The Impact Series : Elissa Foster, Head of Sustainability for Who Gives A Crap
Profile
Name: Elissa Foster
Company: Who Gives A Crap
Role: Head of Sustainability
Company Summary: What we're about - Doing good without compromises. Ready for a bummer? Every day, 1 million trees are cut down to make traditional toilet paper. That's why we make our rolls from recycled fibers or bamboo.
Bio: Elissa Foster, Head of Sustainability for Who Gives A Crap , has her undergraduate degree in Zoology/Animal Biology, her Masters in Environmental Science and Management - Coastal Marine Resource Management and her Doctorate in Environmental Science and Engineering.
Q+A with Elissa
From your perspective as Head of Sustainability, what challenges was the company aiming to solve in the toilet paper industry - and how has that mission evolved over time?
Who Gives A Crap fundamentally started as a business to address the global sanitation crisis. When our founders discovered over two billion people lack access to clean water or toilets, they knew something needed to be done to help solve this.
The idea was to sell a product people use every day, like toilet paper, and donate 50% of the profits to fund clean water and sanitation projects. However, we also needed to understand the impact of paper on the environment.
Two of the biggest sustainability challenges we saw in the toilet paper industry were its heavy reliance on virgin tree pulp and the widespread use of plastic packaging. This is why we committed to using recycled and bamboo fibers in our toilet paper products, as well as wrapping our toilet paper in recycled paper or bamboo, not plastic.
As we’ve grown, our mission has evolved. While we remain deeply committed to improving access to clean water and sanitation, we've also expanded our focus to pushing for more sustainable production practices in the industry, encouraging consumers and competitors alike to move toward better alternatives. This was one of the elements that prompted our expansion into new product categories that use alternative materials, like our garbage bags made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic and reusable Dream Cloths.
What do you wish more people in the climate tech and sustainability ecosystem understood about the hygiene/personal care sector
I wish more people recognized the significant environmental impact of the products they use daily. For instance, while personal hygiene products are essential for public health, dignity, and gender equity, they also can contribute to deforestation, pollution, and high emissions.
Additionally, many of these products are single-use and not actually recyclable or compostable, even if they are labeled that way. When they’re disposed of incorrectly, they can clog waste systems, contaminate compost, or end up as long-term plastic pollution.
Hygiene and personal care products are foundational to human well-being; however, there is a clear opportunity for innovation to reduce the environmental impacts of these products.
From your perspective, where do you see the biggest opportunities for innovation in sustainable consumer goods over the next few years?
I think there is a real need and opportunity to innovate and develop palm oil replacements. Replacing palm oil is one of the most important and challenging sustainability opportunities in consumer goods.
Palm oil is used in everything from soap and shampoo to chocolate and instant noodles, but it’s a major driver of tropical deforestation (especially in Indonesia and Malaysia), biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions and human rights issues.
There are significant challenges to finding a replacement for palm oil because of its useful chemical properties, availability and affordability. Innovation to develop a palm oil replacement would help to alleviate the pressure on tropical forests to produce palm oil.
Your company’s business model combines sustainable products with a strong social impact mission - donating 50% of profits to help build toilets in underserved communities. From your role leading sustainability efforts, how do you see this hybrid approach influencing consumer trust and driving long-term impact?
Our hybrid model, combining sustainable products with our commitment to donate 50% of profits to help fund sanitation projects, has been a powerful driver of consumer trust and long-term brand impact.
Our relationship with customers is central to everything we do. We work hard to build genuine connections by being transparent about our values, our giving model, and our sustainability commitments.
We hope that our commitment to transparency and open communication establishes and maintains our customers' trust and helps them feel like they are part of the journey we are on to drive long-term positive impact.
If you could host a dinner party with four people who inspire you, who would you invite and why?
First on my list would be Michelle Obama. I admire her deeply, not just for her leadership and advocacy, but also for her role as a mother raising two daughters. I have two daughters as well, and I’d love to talk with her about parenting, purpose, and everything in between.
I’d also invite Ted Danson. I really enjoy his podcast When Everybody Knows Your Name, and I know he has been a passionate environmental advocate, especially when it comes to ocean conservation. That’s a lifelong passion of mine as well.
Nicole Bassett is a very good friend of mine, and fellow sustainability expert, we always have great, thought-provoking conversations over dinner (truth be told she is usually the one cooking and hosting), and I rarely get to see her because we don’t live near each other anymore.
Finally, I’d invite Paul Hawken. His book Drawdown had a big impact on me, and I’d love the chance to hear his take on the current state of the climate movement. I’d ask him about systems change, how supply chains fit into the bigger picture, and more.
