The Founding of The Good Roll

How it all started…

Travel back in time with us, to the days when founders Melle and Sander were still active in the hospitality sector. Nobody, and we mean absolutely nobody, would have thought that they would one day start a toilet paper brand. But sometimes the best ideas arise from the most unexpected situations.

Melle had a simple dream: to improve the world with something we all use every day. It started when he was commissioned by a large hotel chain to research sustainability in the hotel industry. He thought about the usual sustainability aspects, such as linen, food waste and energy consumption. But to his surprise, Melle discovered that enormous amounts of toilet paper were being wasted. Guests expect a brand new roll when they enter their hotel room, resulting in enormous amounts of unused toilet paper. After some in-depth research, he started thinking about how to solve this problem.

Our mission

He didn’t just want to develop sustainable toilet paper, he wanted to actually help people move forward. Inspired by Earth Water and their motto “You never drink alone”, he wondered how cool it would be to produce toilet paper that builds toilets in places where that’s not a given. We didn’t want to have a social or sustainable business label, but show that this approach to doing business is the most logical option.

In 2017, in the basement of a club in Amsterdam, he and Sander were working on the idea. After setting up a small webshop, a first large order came in from Albert Heijn. The enthusiasm for the brand and the mission to 'build clean and safe toilets for everyone' did not go unnoticed. The colorful designs of our wrappers in combination with our social focus ensured that the webshop grew to what it is today!

Social workshop

In addition to making an international impact by building toilets in Ghana, steps were also taken in the Netherlands. A social workshop for people with a distance to the labor market was opened in Weesp, after which a second, and in March 2021 a third warehouse was added.

Today, our products are not only available in the Netherlands, but also internationally. We can be found in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and recently also in the United Kingdom, both online and in physical stores. And that is just the beginning of our ambitious plans!

What started as a desire for Melle and Sander to make an impact with something as simple as toilet paper, eventually sparked a movement. A movement that proves that change can be easy! The mix of entrepreneurship and the willpower to improve the world without too much fuss, ensures that we keep your bibs soft and make an impact to this day!