Serious Tissues

What Serious Tissues does

Serious Tissues is a UK-based social enterprise founded in 2020 that manufactures and sells 100% post-consumer recycled paper hygiene products, including 3-ply toilet paper, kitchen rolls and facial tissues, alongside complementary lines such as laundry sheets, reusable laundry bags, antibacterial liquid hand soap (Serious Soaps) and bundled household packs. All paper products are manufactured at a single facility in Blackburn, UK, using a non-chlorine deinking process, 100% renewable energy and water filtration systems that return water cleaner than intake; products are zero-plastic-packaged and carbon-neutral, with one tree planted via the Veritree partnership and ocean-bound plastic recovery via rePurpose Global linked to each relevant purchase.

The company operates a dual go-to-market model. Direct-to-consumer revenue comes through serioustissues.com with a Subscribe & Save 10% subscription option, priced at roughly £38.25-£105 per box of 45 or 135 rolls, supported by free UK shipping over £20 and a 30-day money back guarantee. B2B revenue is generated through a dedicated wholesale portal, direct enterprise contracts and a distribution partnership with Bunzl Cleaning and Hygiene Supplies; flagship accounts include Mitie (three-year key-supplier agreement), JLL (50 sites via Andron), NHS England, CBRE, AXA, Ryanair, Heathrow Airport, SAP, Andron Facilities Management, Bidvest Noonan and Oakland Care, with a Veritree-powered ESG impact dashboard available to enterprise customers for quarterly impact and carbon-sequestration reporting.

Beyond the product proposition, Serious Tissues operates a homelessness-employment program that sources candidates through partnerships with St Mungo's, Crisis, Single Homeless Project, Winter Comfort, Centrepoint, C4WS and the Probation Service for an 8-week cleaning operative training pathway, delivered in coordination with the Mitie Foundation, Andron and the Bunzl Advantage Learn training platform. The company is privately held, founder-controlled, based at 54 Peckham Rye, London, with manufacturing in Blackburn, England; it has not disclosed external institutional funding beyond a 2022 Sky Zero Footprint Fund partnership and is endorsed as a sustainability leader by Which?, Ethical Consumer and a roster of major UK media outlets.

Name

Serious Tissues

Legal name

Serious Tissues

Website

https://serioustissues.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

UK social enterprise manufacturing 100% recycled toilet paper, kitchen rolls and facial tissues in Blackburn from post-consumer paper, selling via D2C subscription and B2B wholesale to consumers, facilities managers and enterprise customers, with verified tree-planting and homelessness-employment impact programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Paper Products

NAICS

Sanitary Paper Product Manufacturing (322291), Industrial and Personal Service Paper Merchant Wholesalers (424130)

SIC

Papers & Allied Products (2600), Wholesale-Paper & Paper Products (5110), Paper Mills (2621)

akta.pro primary industry

Recycled-Content & Sustainable Tissue/Hygiene Products (IMAMAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Consumer Tissue Paper (Facial, Toilet, Paper Towels, Napkins) (IMAMAGAA), Professional Laundry & Hygiene Paper Systems (Rolls, Refills, Managed Programs) (IMAMAGAL), Specialty Household Paper (Recycled, Bamboo, Premium/Ultra-soft) (CRAJAFAJ)

Keywords

• Recycled paper products
• Sustainable toilet paper
• Household paper goods
• Social enterprise hygiene
• Eco-friendly paper supplies

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct-to-Consumer E-commerce: Online sales through serioustissues.com with individual product purchases and subscription options. Subscription model offers 10% savings with flexible delivery cadences.
2. B2B Wholesale: Wholesale pricing for businesses including toilet paper, kitchen rolls, facial tissues, hand towels, blue roll, and soap products. Sold through registered wholesale accounts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Serious Tissues manufactures and sells 100% post-consumer recycled paper products — toilet paper, kitchen rolls, facial tissues, hand towels, jumbo and mini-jumbo washroom rolls, and antibacterial hand soap — at its Blackburn, UK facility using a non-chlorine deinking process powered by renewable energy. It sells these products both direct to UK households via its e-commerce site with a Subscribe & Save subscription, and to B2B buyers (facilities management, hospitality, healthcare, aviation, commercial real estate) through a wholesale portal and distributor partnerships including Bunzl. Each box plants a tree through Veritree and supports a social enterprise employment program for people affected by homelessness.

Product overview

Serious Tissues is a UK-based social enterprise offering a portfolio of sustainable paper and hygiene products. The core consumer range comprises 100% recycled toilet paper (3-ply), kitchen rolls (2-ply), and facial tissues (3-ply), all made in the UK from post-consumer recycled paper with zero plastic packaging. These are supplemented by a Household Essentials Pack bundling all paper products with laundry strips, and a Reusable Laundry Bag. The wholesale/B2B division extends the range with bulk paper products (jumbo rolls, hand towels, C-feed towels), the Serious Soaps antibacterial hand soap line, and a full ESG Impact Dashboard providing B2B clients with live tree-planting tracking via veritree. A collaboration with ReBorn adds eco home bundles combining recycled paper with repurposed plastic accessories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Serious Soaps: Antibacterial liquid hand soap product line under the Serious brand, UK manufactured with ocean plastic removal commitment.
• Serious Tissues x ReBorn

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 tree planted per box sold
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• MitieflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 May 2025Three-year partnership making Serious Tissues key supplier of commodity toilet paper. Every roll plants a tree. Target of 100,000 trees over contract life, sequestering 134,970 tonnes CO2. Includes employment program for people affected by homelessness through Mitie Foundation.
• JLLcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Commercial real estate client with Serious Tissues products across 50 sites implemented through Andron. Impact includes 2,248 trees planted, 558 tonnes CO2 removed.
• Andron Facilities ManagementcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2025Long-term cleaning and soft FM partner implementing Serious Tissues products for JLL and other clients. Site-level implementation and support for social impact model expansion.
• Forest Green RoversminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership with world's greenest football club for sustainability awareness and community engagement.
• VeritreecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading restoration platform using blockchain technology for transparency in tree-planting initiatives. Provides live dashboards tracking trees planted, species, locations, carbon sequestered, and employment created for local planters. Currently planting in UK, Madagascar, Mozambique, Kenya.
• rePurpose GlobalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlastic action platform funding waste recovery projects. Serious Tissues partnership recovers ocean-bound plastic through laundry sheets purchases, supporting a project in Goa, India focusing on MLP plastic waste recovery.
• St Mungo'scoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHomelessness charity partner for employment program. Provides candidate selection and support for people affected by homelessness to participate in 8-week cleaning operative training.
• CrisiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHomelessness charity partner providing candidates for cleaning employment program and supporting training initiatives.
• Single Homeless Project (SHP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHomelessness charity partner in employment program providing candidates for training and placement.
• Winter ComfortcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHomelessness charity partner providing candidates for employment program.
• CentrepointcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth homelessness charity partner for employment program.
• Probation ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner supporting ex-offenders through employment program.
• C4WScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHomelessness charity partner for employment program.
• Bunzl Cleaning and Hygiene SuppliescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution partner providing Advantage Learn training platform with 26 modules for cleaning operative certification. Supports employment program delivery.
• Change PleaseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSocial enterprise model inspiration for cleaning employment program. Change Please has spent a decade training people experiencing homelessness as baristas; Serious Tissues adapting this model for cleaning industry.
• ReBornminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSustainable home products partnership creating bundles combining Serious Tissues recycled paper products with ReBorn recycled plastic accessories (toilet brush, kitchen roll holder).
• The Ocean CleanupminorOthersFeatured in blog content about ocean plastic recovery initiatives. Non-profit using massive barriers and river interception systems to remove plastic from oceans.
• Plastic FischerminorOthersFeatured in blog content about ocean plastic recovery. Operating in India and Indonesia with low-tech, cost-effective river plastic prevention and local employment.
• EcoalfminorOthersFeatured in blog about Upcycling The Oceans initiative transforming marine waste into clothing and accessories.
• SeaQualminorOthersFeatured in blog about transforming marine litter into yarn and textile solutions.
• Parley Ocean PlasticminorOthersFeatured in blog about intercepting coastal plastic and creating premium materials.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Essity (Tork brand): Global hygiene and tissue giant and the dominant B2B washroom supplier in the UK through its Tork brand. Broad incumbent offering overlapping products at scale; competing for the same FM and corporate tenders, often with more limited recycled ranges.
• Kimberly-Clark (Andrex brand): Owner of Andrex, the UK's leading toilet tissue consumer brand. Broad incumbent controlling the major UK retail shelf; competing with Serious Tissues at the mass-market end and increasingly launching recycled variants.
• Office Depot / Viking Office UK: Large office supplies wholesalers/distributors in the UK carrying toilet paper, kitchen roll and hygiene consumables. Compete with Serious Tissues for the office and facilities buying channel, though as part of broader catalogues.

Emerging players

• Suma Wholefoods co-operative: UK worker co-operative wholesaler and retailer of ethical, eco and refillable products including recycled household paper. Comparable as a competitor on wholesale shelves and in zero-waste retail for sustainable household paper.
• Bak (formerly Bкуп) / Naked Bathroom Co. UK sustainable household paper brand offering recycled and bamboo toilet paper plus household consumables. Smaller-scale emerging peer targeting similar DTC and B2B buyers.

Direct peers

• Who Gives a Crap: DTC recycled/bamboo toilet paper brand with strong social mission (donates 50% of profits). Direct competitor in DTC and growing B2B channels, operating in the UK and globally with similar subscription and impact storytelling.
• Bumboo: UK DTC and wholesale bamboo tissue brand offering toilet paper, kitchen rolls and facial tissues. Direct competitor in the eco tissue space, particularly in UK retailers and online channels.
• The Cheeky Panda: UK-based bamboo toilet paper and tissue brand sold DTC and through retail. Targets the same eco-conscious household segment as Serious Tissues; competes on sustainability credentials but with bamboo (not recycled) fibre.

Others

• Bunzl Cleaning & Hygiene Supplies: Largest UK cleaning and hygiene distributor and one of Serious Tissues' distribution/GTM partners. Comparable as the primary route-to-market for janitorial paper and adjacent consumables to enterprise customers.
• Ecover / SC Johnson (Method & Ecover): Eco cleaning brand (now part of SC Johnson) sold into the same eco-conscious household and B2B channels as Serious Tissues. Adjacent competitor in sustainable household consumables, though not in toilet tissue specifically.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/serioustissues
• Xx.com/SeriousTissues
• Instagraminstagram.com/serioustissues
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/serious-tissues

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Serious Tissues