Amsterdam-based The Good Roll announces that now anyone can become its co-owner; Here’s how

Amsterdam-based The Good Roll, a company that aims to make sustainable sanitary facilities accessible to everyone, announced on Saturday, November 19, that now anyone can become its co-owner. One simply has to register to acquire its shares.

According to the company, with just €225, one can become a co-owner of The Good Roll. The Dutch company uses a 100 per cent tree-friendly toilet roll to provide as many people as possible with access to safe and clean toilets.

The company made the announcement on World Toilet Day. 

In a LinkedIn post, The Good Roll says, “We want everyone to have access to clean and safe sanitary facilities. For now, we are incredibly proud of everything we have already done. And because of all of you, this year we were able to build a lot of toilets! However, we want to do more! Together we can make the transition to a sustainable toilet paper industry and provide clean and safe toilets for everyone.”

“Safe and clean toilets for everyone!”

Founded in 2017 by Sander de Klerk and Melle Schellekens, The Good Roll aims to disrupt the toilet paper market by manufacturing toilet paper from an alternative raw material instead of wood pulp – Bamboo.

The company claims that the right kind of bamboo is an excellent raw material for producing toilet paper that is both sturdy and soft. The Good Roll carefully chooses small farmers who have bamboo on their properties and educates them on how to responsibly manage their land and bamboo. The bamboo is then harvested and chopped by the company’s local workers so that it can grow back within 12 to 24 months without suffering any damage.

In Ghana, The Good Roll opened its first plant in 2021 with the assistance of the local and federal governments (with the Netherlands Enterprise Agency and Rabobank Foundation). Bamboo toilet paper is produced at the plant, which also provides jobs for locals. 

In August 2022, the company announced a crowdfunding campaign with a target to raise €1M. It managed to raise €779,556 on the CrowdAboutNow platform with an aim to accelerate marketing efforts and expand its team with several important roles.

The Good Roll Foundation & its future

The Good Roll Foundation is the philanthropic arm of The Good Roll. The company allocates 50 per cent of profits to The Good Roll Foundation. Initially used to allocate these funds to external partners, The Good Roll Foundation is now setting out on its own to design and build sanitation facilities.

The Foundation works with local people in Ghana to build safe, sanitary facilities in schools and villages and maintains them. 

The company claims to have built 213 toilets in Ghana and Uganda and has doubled its annual turnover until last year by almost €2.5M. Further, the Dutch company aims to achieve at least €300M in turnover by 2028.

Sheltered workshop

Aside from making an environmental impact, The Good Roll also focuses on local societal benefits. The company hires individuals from the labour market to ensure that everyone gets the opportunity to work. The employees wrap and box the company’s toilet rolls, kitchen rolls, and tissues in its sheltered workshop. 

To achieve this, The Good Roll has collaborated with De Sociaal Werkkoepel – a network organisation that facilitates and supports employers and the municipality in realising more jobs for locals with a labour disability.

The company says, “Together, we make sure that people with limited labour power or a temporary reduction in wage value get the chance to work in a fitting and sustainable workplace. We believe – everyone who wants to and can work should get the opportunity to do so. That is why we have three external sheltered workplaces: in Hoorn, Purmerend, and Rotterdam, we employ approximately 100 social workers! Whom we happily guide through their time working for us. This includes people with mental or physical disabilities.”