roll together
Annual report
2022
about us
Hi, we are The Good Roll.
In 2017, we were born out of a belief. A belief that water and sanitation are at the core of a healthy, happy and dignified life. A life that everyone deserves. Everything we do, we do because we are convinced full access to clean and safe sanitation is the start of a healthy, happy and dignified world.
bamboo income, to the children that are able to stay in class thanks to safe sanitation. It's all possible with soft and strong bamboo toilet paper that changes lives beyond your toilet.
Together with Ghanese farmers, we develop our bamboo toilet paper. Bamboo that happens to purify air & soil. And thanks to you doing your thing, water and sanitation projects are being built in Ghana. So everyone has a safe place to go, when they have to go. Your toilet break sets in motion a full circle of goodness.
Time has come to use our enlightened toilet breaks to do some good. We are enabling you to make a positive impact every time nature calls. From Ghanese farmers that harvest a good
Our full circle of goodness:
50% of The Good Roll's net profit is invested into water, sanitation and hygiene projects in Ghana, Africa.
Ghanese farmers harvest bamboo, and a good income.
Bamboo purifies earth & air. This fast-growing carbon killer is even greener than trees. By using The Good Roll, you're purifying our earth.
Now you're up!
Go to the toilet, take that well deserved break.
Use The Good Roll. Enjoy.
The Good Roll is wrapped and packed in social workplaces in The Netherlands.
The bamboo is processed in our own factories in Ghana where women over 40 get new employment opportunities.
Our believe
Water and sanitation are at the core of a healthy, happy and dignified life.
A life that everyone deserves.
Our vision
A healthy, happy and dignified world thanks to full access to clean and safe sanitation.
Our mission
By enabling you to make a positive impact every time nature calls.
Our Proposition
Soft and strong bamboo toilet paper that changes lives beyond your toilet.
Where do we start when talking about our brand? There’s so much to say and so many great things to highlight: from the sustainable characteristics of the product itself to the people-friendly production and packaging process, and the clean and safe sanitation cause the profit goes towards. Below, you can read all the ins and outs of our company in 2022.
Ready for our 2022? Here we go!
Foundation
main priority is to improve children’s lives and therefore we mainly focus on schools and their communities within Ghana. The foundation contributes mainly to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number six: “Clean water and Sanitation for all by 2030”.
These Projects were successfully undertaken in 2022
This year alone, 36 toilet units, a changing room, shower units, and sinks have been built in 4 schools.
- Suhum Islamic Girls SHS
- Cape Coast School for the deaf/blind
- Da Awatul Islamic school II
- Botoku Da Junior High School
This has directly impacted the lives of 4.291 students.
This has been made possible because of some beautiful partnerships.
The Good Roll Foundation was established in 2018. The Good Roll Foundation is the corporate social responsibility arm of The Good Roll BV and the Good Roll Factory. The projects we engage in are the construction of sustainable toilet facilities and the provision of, and education on sanitary products, such as toilet rolls, menstruation pads, and soap. All of this, we do for schools and communities in need. Our
In progress
Da Awatul Islamic School ll
Suhum Islamic Girls SHS
after
Da Awatul Islamic School ll
Dao Products Partnership
We believe every woman has the right to a good and hygienic menstruation product. Therefore, we have partnered with DOA products. They produce 100% compostable menstruation pads, free of plastic, perfumes, and chemicals. In collaboration, we have distributed pads to young girls in ‘’our’’ schools. A day in which fun and education were alternated.
Educating boys and girls on this topic together with providing needed hygienic materials directly has a positive outcome. For instance, girls attend school daily, also when having their period. This in the long run positively affects personal and economic growth.
PROLINK Partnership
In 2022 we also partnered with ProLink, a Ghanaian non-governmental organisation that works to empower and promote the rights of disadvantaged persons. For this year, the main aim of this partnership is to engage and promote the topics of job creation for the youth, building affordable and sustainable toilet facilities, promoting sexual reproductive health rights and hygiene education, building lasting environments, and reducing carbon emissions through bamboo farming.
The partnership with Prolink contributes to working on the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number 17: “Global Partnership for Sustainable Development”. This refers to impactful initiatives in order to achieve lasting solutions to reducing open defecation, deforestation, illegal small-scale gold mining in Ghana, and reducing carbon emissions.
Some 2023 foundation goals worth sharing...
CLUB OF 100
Another exciting next step for the year 2023 is the initiative to build a community named the Club of 100. The Club of 100 is a new initiative that The Good Roll Foundation will start working on separately from the school projects it has been undertaking so far. The Club of 100 is a coalition of different organizations (any odd size) that will work together with The Good Roll Foundation to achieve one common goal: to build 100 toilets in schools in Ghana in 2023.
The idea behind the Club of 100 is to promote knowledge and improve methods to enhance the hygiene quality, health, and living standards for children in schools in Ghana. The impact of providing schools with safe and sustainable toilets will have positive long-lasting effects on the lives of children. As they are our future, they will adopt hygienic daily habits that protect and improve their health and overall well-being for the rest of their lives. Moreover, the Club of 100 will promote the creation of jobs for Ghanaians, such as construction and maintenance work for the toilet blocks.
Is your company interested in being part of making direct impact? Join the Club of 100, 2023! Together with cool brands, small or big, we can get work done! For more practical information and to find our what the positive benefits are for your company, get in touch with our Head of Foundation: Taliza Vermeulen. (taliza@thegoodroll.nl)
PILOT PAYBACK MODEL 2023
The next project that The Good Roll Foundation has planned for 2023 will be based on a payback model that allows community members to make use of school and/or community toilets at a minor cost. This pilot model will be launched with the next project in Akamofie, which The Good Roll Foundation will start this year. The return of the income from these toilet blocks will be invested in the schools, ownership, and maintenance of the toilets and The Good Roll Foundation to build more toilets for more schools. This way The Good Roll Foundation increases access to toilets for community members, ensures sustainable use of the toilets and progressively expands its budget to build more toilets for more schools and communities based on the same model.
Bamboo
We are not only building toilets, but we are also building a community, a family in Ghana. One way we have done this, is by building our own bamboo toilet paper factory in Ghana! Unique to our company, is that our toilet paper brand will no longer rely on bamboo paper from other parties and systems. With this, we have changed the bamboo paper supply chain, breaking China’s monopoly on bamboo paper. We can now proceed to having our entire supply chain of our bamboo paper in our own hands.
This starts with our own factory. Our bamboo toilet paper factory is up and running and we try to do everything as sustainable as possible. The roof of the factory is covered with solar panels and we work with a water waste treatment, which means we are reusing all the water that is used in the production of our toilet rolls. In addition to this, we are busy researching how to replace chemicals with enzymes. We have already succeeded in replacing most of the standard chemicals used in the paper & pulp industry with natural supplements such as enzymes and Magnesium Hydroxide. However, that's not all. The factory brings many other benefits by which we improve many peoples lives, for example:
- We create many job opportunities. At this moment, with our factory alone, we offer jobs for about 100 people. Furthermore, we buy bamboo from 50 farmers.
- We pay people fairly. Everyone who works at the factory, works on contract and we pay above average wage.
- We provide farmers with additional income. Farmers often do not see any value in bamboo that is growing on their land. By buying the bamboo from them, we create an additional source of income for local farmers.
- Use of bamboo, which is currently seen as weed. With our factory, this is no longer just an undervalued raw material, but a highly valued resource.
- We focus on training. Currently, we are working on a farmer training program which focuses on the sustainable cultivation and harvesting of bamboo. This is done to maintain a biodiverse and fertile farmland.
Our factory now employs a 100 people, this includes both men and women, all from the nearest village Akwamufie. In the future we will provide the whole of Akwamufie with clean and safe sanitation.
We share a different opinion than others… For many farmers, bamboo is currently seen as weed, since it grows like weeds at the edges of their fields. However, to us, bamboo isn’t a waste product. We love Bamboo!
Bamboo is the largest member of the grass family and is believed to be the most primitive tree due to its long valuable history. Bamboo can be found both in the temperate, tropical, and subtropical regions of the world and is capable of adapting to harsh soil and weather conditions and helps prevent soil erosion.
As stated above, we love bamboo. Bamboo grows at an incredibly fast rate and can be harvested without the death of the crop. Additionally, bamboo can grow up to one meter a day. Compared to trees, this is a huge contrast: once you cut down a tree, the tree is dead. It even can take up to 20 years to replace that tree.
Furthermore, bamboo takes in more CO2 and produces more oxygen than the average tree. There’s almost no end to the amount of things bamboo can be used for. Sustainable, versatile, sturdy, flexible, the benefits of bamboo just go on and on. This is why we are working towards a transition from recycled paper to bamboo paper only!
The colour of bamboo paper is only slightly different. Because we do not use chlorine, colourants and fragrances.
With our bamboo products and toilet paper rolls, we ensure a cleaner and healthier future.
Benefits of our bamboo:
- 100% biodegradable
- Easily grows back after cutting down
- Grows 30 times faster than trees do
- Can grow up to one meter a day
- Produces 30% more oxygen than trees do
- Absorbs 35% more CO2 than trees
- Reduces CO2 emissions
- Prevents deforestation
- Bamboo requires less water to process it into toiletpaper than wood
Want to know more about bamboo and why we love it?!
Sheltered workshop
Aside from making an environmental impact, we also want to make direct social impact, both globally and locally. One of our local contributions can be seen in our sheltered workshop, which is growing as fast as our company!
We believe that everyone who wants to work and is able to, should get the opportunity to do so. This is why we hire people that have a distance to the labour market. Often, they struggle finding employment. By providing the proper guidance, we allow people with either physical or mental disabilities to experience working. This provides more structure and self-sustainability. This is why we have one internal and five external sheltered workshops. The internal workshop can be found at our headquarters in Weesp and the external workshops can be found in Gouda, Hoorn, Purmerend, Rotterdam and Veenendaal.
We have created a friendly and welcoming environment and happily guide them through their time with us. Currently, we are employing 51 people with our internal sheltered workshop! The employees wrap and box our toilet rolls, kitchen rolls, and tissues. They really keep us rolling!
All of this has been made possible because of our collaboration with De Sociaal Werkkoepel Amsterdam - a network organization that facilitates and supports employers and the district in creating more jobs for locals with labour disabilities. Together, we make sure that people with limited labour-power or temporary reduction in wage value get the chance to work in a tailored and sustainable workplace.
Location external sheltered workshops
Coen: "My favourite moment of 2022 was when Casper had baked pancakes.
I also liked the group photo we took because we had won an award. I think the best days are the days when the dogs are present."
Tulay: "My daily job is order picking, which I really enjoy doing because the environment is so pleasant! I also really like that everyone treats each other with respect."
Sander: "I think The Good Roll is a chill company with nice colleagues. I find packing the boxes the most fun to do."
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CO2 compensation
We love the planet as much as we love your bum!
We want to increase our impact on people’s lives as well as reduce any negative impact on the climate. In 2022, we have internally calculated our Co2 emissions of 2021. We did this by looking at our consumption of gas, water and electricity, the emissions of the trucks we are using and calculated our staff commuting. When you know your total emissions, you can compensate/offset your total Co2 emissions.
In order to do so, we partnered up with JustDiggit. JustDiggit cools down the planet by regreening Africa. Because of this collaboration, we are able to make an even bigger positive impact on the African continent. Together, we are regreening over 270,000m2 of dry land and bringing back 1000 trees. The regreened land and trees will help lock 424 tons of Co2, which is equivalent to the carbon emissions of our company in 2021.
To reduce our Co2 emissions in the first place, we have collaborated with Budbee as well. Budbee works according to their Three Green Pillars. Their first pillar is: “Renewable diesel and electricity all the way”. With this, they decrease their Carbon footprint in their transportation. They also have energy-self-sufficient terminals with solar panels and charging stations for Electric vehicles.
Their second pillar is: “Route optimization and fill-rates”. Budbee has created an AI system which automatically creates the most efficient routes for their deliverers. Furthermore, they 3D scan every parcel that goes through their sorting machines, securing the maximum fill rate in their vehicles.
Their third pillar is: “Sustainable Cities”. With this pillar, Budbee lowers the environmental impact on cities and improves air quality by switching to renewable diesel, HVO100, and electric vehicles. HVO100 is a hydrogenated vegetable oil made from raw materials, such as animal fat waste from the food industry, recycled cooking oil or fish fat from the fishing industry, that do not release any new carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Now this is what we call environmentally friendly wiping!
B Corp
The B Corp certification, where the B stands for “Benefit”, means that a corporation wants to make a positive impact on both social and environmental levels. Decisions are made with the best intentions on the levels of employees, customers, suppliers, production, the community and the environment.
In June 2022, it was officially confirmed that our way of doing things is actually the right way, when we were allowed to call ourselves a B Corp.
We did this with a score of 111 our of 200!
To get this B Corp certification, we needed to go through the B Impact Assessment (BIA). This is an examination that looks at how an organization scores in five impact areas: governance, employees, community, customers and environment. The average score for companies completing the B Impact Assessment currently is 50.9, whilst you need a score of at least 80 points to get a B Corp certification.
This is why we are extremely proud to say that The Good Roll is officially certified as a B Corporation!
“It is confirmation that we are rolling with a positive impact both socially, economically and environmentally!” - Melle Schellekens
As you were able to read earlier, we sell sustainable toilet paper, without chlorine, dyes and fragrances and donate 50% of our net product to our own Foundation. In addition to recycled paper, we also have toilet paper made out of bamboo, which will be produced in our own factory in Ghana in the future. The bamboo we are using for our own factory gets purchased from 50 local farmers.
The factory itself provides employment opportunities for 100 people. This makes a direct social contribution to the local community.
Want to know more about our B Corp Certification or B Corp itself?
total impact
Improved 11.650 lives
Bought bamboo from 50 farmers
Built 233 toilets
Employed 100 women and men with our factory
Saved 24.694 trees
Distributed toilet paper for those in need
Distributed soap
Distributed menstruation pads for those in need with partner Nalu.
Employed 51 people with our internal workshop
Compensated our CO2 emissions (Justdiggit).
Used 5 external workshops
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The Good Family
We want to give a massive shoutout to everyone who is subscribed to The Good Roll. You really feel like our family members. At the end of this year, 2022, our family consisted over 10.000 members! Our family is growing quickly and we love to see all of your support.
You systematically contribute to our business by purchasing our products. By doing so, you enable us to make even more impact, as we have a steady stream of turnover. This enables us to make the donations that The Good Roll Foundation needs to build the toilets we want to provide. You have hopped on board and always have our back. The bigger our family gets, the bigger our impact becomes and the closer we get to achieving our mission: clean and safe toilets for everyone.
Highlights of 2022
Bamboo factory
ISO 9100 en 14001 certified
Succesfull crowdfunding
Finished in the top 10 of the KVK Innovation top 100
Stock market flotation
Reached 10.000 subscribers
Shopping awards
B-Corp certification
what our employees say...
Duvan: "Since my beginning, I have only had highlights, learned a lot about myself and received good feedback to continue growing. I am very excited to continue working on the Inpacs project. The Good Roll has not only become a norm but also a standard."
Nicole: "2022 was a year filled with challenges for me. In November, my adventure with The Good Roll started. I am looking forward to the arrival of the first bamboo rolls from Ghana in 2023. Furthermore, I cannot wait to see what new exciting collaborations 2023 will bring."
Jesse: "My highlight of 2022 definitely was The Good Roll party, but I am most looking forward to is implementing more professional systems in 2023. This year, many things are going to happen to make The Good Roll even more successful. Additionally, I am looking forward to our bamboo rolls from Ghana, it will bring some nice challenges!"
Pien: "My highlight of 2022 were the happy faces of employees that you give a chance, both young and old. If you want to do it, you can do it and at our company, nothing is impossible. For me, 2023 will be a year of even more success and making impact!"
Desiree: "My highlight of 2022 was achieving my HBO diploma in Job Coaching. I am extremely excited to apply this in 2023 to intensively guide our warehouse employees in achieving their desired personal growth."
Casper: "What I am most proud of is the crowdfunding campaign. Something we put so much time and energy into, became such a great success. That is definitely my highlight of 2022. In addition, I am very excited for 2023 because through automation we can further professionalize the entire company. This will give us more insight into our data, allowing us to report more accurately and bring more structure to the entire organization."
re-sellers
"This past year has been amazing, challenging and eventful, for both Retail and Sales. We have entered several new markets via the retail channel, built on existing client relationships and introduced two new product lines! We are very happy with the support of our distributors, resellers, stockists and retail-partners in The Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, and our enthusiastic two (new) retailpartners in Scandinavia! Although margins are always a challenge, seeing as we want to continue to contribute to build toilets in places of need we would like to thank everybody for their understanding and believing in the mission we have embarked on together."
We also want to highlight some of our most precious customers and partners.
Crisp
The Netherlands favorite home-delivery retailer is now stocking our products! On the cusp of the new year, Crisp Netherlands was the first to launch our full bamboo product line. These European produced rolls are made with regards to highest standards: toxins free, B-Corp Certified and produced in a carbon-neutral paper manufacturing plant.
Pieter Pot
An e-tailer that delivers groceries in most circular way possible, reusable glass jars! A fantastic partnership that has been highlighted by a new wrapper each year for both Toilet and Kitchen Rolls. From the get-go, both the supply-, product- and marketing teams have been keen on making the most out of this partnership and we are happy to say that during this year we have achieved a fully circular no waste supply chain set-up.
Landmarkt
The freshest supermarket, delivers fruits, vegetables, dairy and many more products directly from the farm to their stores, to the plates of consumers. Landmarkt bring our toiletpaper rolls fresh from the production line to their stores and is loved by all.
Oxfam
At the Oxfam Stores in Belgium we have been a staple on their shelves for quite some time. Together, we help fight poverty in the local communities while supporting their mission internationally as well.
Holex
On their way to sustainable transformation Holex found us, together we work on keeping our footprint as low as possible for a better future.
Waag Futurelab
Waag’s research is oriented towards having a positive, lasting effect on our societies and that is why they chose for The Good Roll. Making the world better together.
G. Raggers & zn. BV Schoonmaakonderneming
A proud family company that takes sustainability very seriously. They have long term relations with both their customers and employees.
Being more sustainable and making more impact, has never been easier for companies. Companies who are struggling to find what to do to become more sustainable, even just a little bit, can start by getting The Good Roll toilet paper for their office, warehouse, event or wherever you would like to start wiping more sustainable. We love to help with the first steps to a more sustainable future and so a lot of companies in 2022 started rolling with us.
sales partners
PVH (Tommy Hilfiger / Calvin Klein)
A new level of ambition and transparency for sustainable business is what PVH is working towards and we support that mission.
Oatly
We love Oatly and apparently, Oatly loves us too. We continue working together towards a more sustainable future.
Cals College
A sustainable future for everyone, Cals College learned we build toilets at schools in Ghana and was more than willing to swap their toilet paper for ours.
making impact... together
Heinen Delfts Blauw
"For our collaboration with The Good Roll, we had to dive into the history of toilet paper. What caught our attention is that our distant ancestors used pottery shards to clean their backsides! Fortunately, things are a lot softer now. Instead of using Delft Blauw pottery shards to wipe your bottom, you can now just wipe with Delft Blauw toilet paper."
Happy Soaps
"The Good Roll and HappySoaps brands go together great. Dutch, colourful, cheerful and making impact on a large scale with everyday products. We are therefore happy to work together and increase our impact together."
Annemarie Geerts - Influencer
"For me, this was the funniest and most successful charity collaboration of the year. Never thought a roll of toilet paper could pull that off."
We Love The Planet
"The Oh My Goodness Box was a joy to be a part of. A box full of valuable products from companies all with the same goal: making the world a little more environmentally friendly. Happy that We Love The Planet could be a part of this."
revenue
The Good Roll is all about impact. The more money we convert, the more impact we can make. 50% of our net profit goes to our Foundation, our philanthropic arm, to design and build toilets and sanitation facilities in Ghana.
This year, the revenue of The Good Roll has risen through the roof by just over 3.7 million euros. This is an increase of more than 60% in comparison to the previous year. This is something we are incredibly grateful for, as the higher our turnover is, the more we can donate to The Good Roll Foundation. Because of this, we are able to continue our positive impact and improve lives across the world.
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Business Insider
Articles and PR
Rabobank
In 2022, a lot happened to The Good Roll, and a lot of articles were written about us! We are incredibly thrilled with all this publicity. We want to thank everyone who wrote and spoke about us! We couldn’t be more proud and really feel honored for all these opportunities.
Want to know more about us? Read, listen and watch these news items of 2022.
Curious about everything? We understand that you can click on everything!
BNR
De Ondernemer
mtsprout
The Good Roll commercial
Marketing Tribune
FT Food Revolution
Kennismakers - Rabobank
Centraal Beheer
Quicargo
The Good Roll in Ghana
BNR
a few of our goals for 2023
As the new year begins, it's a great opportunity to reflect on what we want to accomplish and set our sights on new goals. This year, our main priority is of course making a meaningful impact in all that we do. it's important to strive towards goals that not only bring us satisfaction, but also positively impact those around us.
By setting goals with a focus on impact, we can make a lasting difference in the world and leave a legacy that extends far beyond our own personal achievements. So let's make this year count, and work towards creating a brighter future for ourselves and those around us.
A few goals we love to share with you for 2023;
- Expanding our business across borders. We will make a presence in both Germany and Belgium.
- New partnerships with impactful brands will be launched to generate more brand awareness
- Introducing new, sustainable products with an innovative touch is goal for the new year to show our commitment to reducing our impact on the environment. Remember our Soap from Ghana?
- A new collaboration with an African street artists is coming soon. Giving African street artists the opportunity to showcase their talents and reach a wider audience, a goal high on our priority list.
- Building more toilets with The Good Foundation, we have set our goals on a minimum of 50 toilet-units.
- Optimizing our systems is a crucial goal for the new year. With efficient processes in place, we can streamline our operations and increase productivity. This, in turn, can lead to cost savings, improved customer satisfaction and a more sustainable business model.
- With carbon credits we will focus on setting up a sustainable retirement model for our bamboo farmers.
- And not to forget our focus on a transition towards bamboo toilet papier
Wipe right, change lives