Why We Don't Print on Our Toilet Paper
Why We Don’t Print on Our Toilet Paper
When people first discover HapeeBum, one question comes up surprisingly often:
“If your wrappers are so colorful, why don’t you print the games and pictures directly onto the toilet paper?”
It’s a fair question.
When we first started developing HapeeBum, we explored all kinds of ideas. Printing activities, pictures and positive messages directly onto the toilet paper was one of them.
But the more we thought about what we wanted HapeeBum to be, the clearer the answer became.
We wanted the toilet paper itself to stay simple.
So instead of printing on the tissue, we put the color, games, conversations and imagination on the wrapper.
Why We Keep the Toilet Paper Dye-Free
Toilet paper has a pretty straightforward job.
It needs to be soft enough for everyday comfort, strong enough to work properly and suitable for the bathroom routine it was made for.
For us, printing colorful designs directly onto the tissue simply wasn't necessary.
HapeeBum toilet paper is dye-free and fragrance-free, and that is an intentional part of how we designed the product.
This is not about suggesting that all printed toilet paper is unsafe. It is about our own approach to an everyday product that comes into direct contact with the body.
When an ingredient or feature isn't needed for the tissue to do its job, we would rather keep things straightforward.
That same thinking is behind our decision to offer toilet paper without added dyes and to be transparent about what families should look for in toilet paper ingredients.
Why Not Use Vegetable-Based Ink on the Toilet Paper?
Our colorful educational wrappers use vegetable-based inks, but we deliberately keep those inks on the wrapper rather than the tissue.
Vegetable-based inks can use renewable plant-derived oils as alternatives to some petroleum-based components in conventional printing inks. But “vegetable-based” doesn't mean the ink somehow stops being ink.
It is still something being added for printing.
And because printing directly onto the toilet paper wasn't necessary for the product to work, we decided not to add it.
The distinction is important:
We're not saying printed toilet paper is inherently unsafe.
We're saying HapeeBum doesn't need printing on the tissue to deliver what we wanted to create.
The toilet paper can do the practical job.
The wrapper can do the fun stuff.
So Where Did All the Fun Go?
Onto the wrapper.
And that decision ended up shaping HapeeBum into something much more interesting than simply putting pictures on toilet paper.
Instead of treating the wrapper as something to ignore, we asked:
What if the wrapper could start a conversation?
That became the heart of our educational collections.
Our wrappers explore themes including:
- Super Power Words
- Strong & Active
- Clean Machine
- Shine Like a Unicorn
- Kindness Crew
- Fruit Power
- Dinosaurs Match & Discover
- What I Can Be
A child might spot a word and ask what it means.
A dinosaur might start a completely unexpected conversation.
A career-themed wrapper might prompt a little bum to announce what they want to be when they grow up.
There doesn't need to be a formal lesson.
The wrapper is simply there to create an opening.
The Toilet Paper Still Gets to Be Toilet Paper
This is probably the simplest way to explain our decision.
We wanted our toilet paper to do its actual job well.
HapeeBum offers 3-ply toilet paper made from either 100% bamboo or 100% recycled paper fibers.
Our bamboo rolls contain 370 sheets per roll, while our recycled rolls contain 400 sheets per roll.
Both options are:
- PFAS-free
- BPA-free
- Dye-free
- Fragrance-free
- Safe for most septic systems
If you're curious about PFAS and why families are paying more attention to them, you can read our guide to what PFAS are. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's PFAS overview also provides useful background on this large group of persistent chemicals.
The important distinction is that our colorful educational designs are not printed on the tissue itself.
The tissue stays dye-free.
The wrapper carries the personality.
Why That Matters for Kids
Kids already learn during ordinary moments.
They ask questions in the car, while getting dressed, over breakfast and, very often, from the bathroom.
That was part of the inspiration behind HapeeBum.
Potty training and learning bathroom independence can already involve plenty of negotiation. We didn't want to make another complicated parenting product.
We wanted to take something families already buy and give the outside of it a little more purpose.
A wrapper can prompt a conversation about kindness, movement, nutrition, feelings or what a child wants to be when they grow up.
Then, when it's time to actually use the toilet paper, it's simply toilet paper.
Sometimes Innovation Is About What You Leave Out
Developing HapeeBum taught me something I didn't expect.
When you're creating a new product, there's a temptation to keep adding things.
More features.
More claims.
More decoration.
More reasons for someone to notice it.
But sometimes the better decision is knowing when to stop.
For HapeeBum, not printing on the toilet paper became part of that philosophy.
Keep the tissue straightforward. Put the creativity on the wrapper.
It sounds simple now.
It took us a little while to get there.
Elyse’s Thoughts
When we first started designing HapeeBum, I loved the idea of making toilet paper fun for kids.
And naturally, one of the first thoughts was: why don't we put the pictures and activities directly on the toilet paper?
But I kept coming back to the product itself.
Did we actually need to print on something being used to wipe?
For me, the answer was no.
I would rather keep our toilet paper dye-free and let the wrapper be where HapeeBum comes alive.
And looking back, I genuinely think that decision made the idea stronger.
The wrappers now have a purpose of their own. They can start conversations, encourage curiosity and make an everyday bathroom shelf look a lot more Hapee.
While the toilet paper gets to do exactly what it came there to do.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why doesn't HapeeBum print directly on its toilet paper?
We deliberately keep HapeeBum toilet tissue dye-free. Instead of printing games, pictures and educational content directly onto the tissue, we put the colorful designs on our wrappers.
Does HapeeBum use ink?
Our educational wrappers use vegetable-based inks. The important distinction is that the colorful designs are on the wrappers, not printed onto the toilet tissue itself.
Does that mean printed toilet paper is unsafe?
No. We're not making that claim. Not printing on our toilet paper is a HapeeBum product decision based on our preference to keep the tissue itself straightforward and dye-free.
Why are HapeeBum wrappers educational?
Because bathroom routines create little pockets of time when kids often talk, ask questions and learn. Our wrappers are designed to give families an easy starting point for those conversations without changing the toilet paper itself.
What is HapeeBum toilet paper made from?
Families can choose 100% bamboo or 100% recycled paper fiber. Both are 3-ply, PFAS-free, BPA-free, dye-free and fragrance-free.
Less on the Paper. More on the Wrapper.
What isn't printed on HapeeBum toilet paper is just as intentional as what is printed on our wrappers.
We could have put the games, characters, colors and activities directly onto the tissue.
We chose not to.
Instead, the toilet paper stays dye-free and the wrapper does the talking.
Sometimes creating something different isn't about adding more.
It's knowing where the fun belongs.