The photo above shows a man holding a pack of branded toilet paper rolls placed in a plastic bag. Here are the problems with such a seemingly innocent everyday sight. Firstly, such ‘good quality’ toilet rolls, which we don’t really need (for mere wiping and throwing), are usually made mostly from trees that can be spared.* Secondly, as the rolls are already packed in plastic, there is already plenty of environmentally-unfriendly plastic involved. Thirdly, the whole plastic pack is placed in another large plastic bag, which is not needed at all, as there already is an available attached plastic handle on the pack for carrying. Fourthly, if putting the pack in a bag was done out of fear of embarrassment that one bought toilet paper, the effort of trying to hide this fact is pointless, because you can see through the translucent plastic bag.
* Toilet paper is sometimes made from recycled paper [e.g. Seventh Generation – available at Brown Rice Paradise at Tanglin Mall in Singapore]; however, large amounts of virgin tree pulp is still used. Environmentally friendly toilet paper may also be unbleached. A February 27, 2009 article in The Daily Mail said that more than 98% of the toilet paper used in the United States comes from virgin forests. (From Wikipedia)