This Designer Christmas Toilet Paper is Helping Build Toilets in the Developing World

Australia’s Who Gives a Crap isn’t your ordinary toilet paper company. Not only are their loo rolls covered in colourful wrapping designed by the likes of Beci Orpin and Craig & Karl, but half of their profits go towards providing people in the developing world with adequate sanitation. In the spirit of Christmas, they’re continuing their charitable efforts—with a festive twist.

With the aid of the Jacky Winter Group, Who Gives a Crap have commissioned twelve local artists to design a range of yuletide  patterns that wouldn’t look out of place under a very stylish Christmas tree. The “Twelve Rolls of Christmas” see each artist depicting their uniquely Australian interpretation of the traditional carol.

The Creators Project caught up with five of the artists to learn more about their designs.

Grace Lee

Illustrator Grace Lee has depicted the rare phenomenon of the Christmas disco in her Who Gives a Crap design. “Originally I had wanted to make my ladies ballet dancers in tutus, but decided it would be way more fun to have 'everyday' ladies with moves you'd see on any dance floor,” she says. “The twerker was for fun, because it's all about the bum! Beyonce, Mc Hammer and Mariah—specifically the dance sequence in 'Honey'—inspired some of the moves and outfits as well.”

Gemma O’Brien

Gemma O’Brien’s design is a very tropical take on the “Partridge in a Pear Tree”. “You can see the partridge on the centre of the roll and the psychedelic swirls, blossoms and spotted pears when the wrapper is opened up,” she says. “I love working with patterns and bold shapes and details in a lot of my typographic work. It was nice to explore this same approach and focus only on illustration in this design.”

Karan Singh

Little drummer boy, eat your heart out. Karan Singh’s design re-appropriates the Christmas drummer trope into something completely different. “Each of the individual drums has been repurposed in a different way whether as a portal or container for a scene offering a surreal twist to the popular carol,” the illustrator explains. “I like the challenge of re-inventing uninteresting objects in interesting and weird ways so this was right up my alley.”

Ellen Porteus

There’s more to Ellen Porteus’ chicken pattern than meets the eye. “I was inspired by those spot-the-difference puzzles you find in magazines and on the back of cereal boxes—I loved them as a kid!,” she says. “Seeing as it's a) toilet paper and b) Christmas themed, I thought it was a good opportunity to do something playful.”

Georgia Perry

Georgia Perry’s design is a bit deranged on purpose. “I've always loved the slightly strange mental images that "12 Days of Christmas" conjures, so I was happy to get the geese,” she says. “I instantly thought of bright summer colours, and lots of movement—birds and feathers flying everywhere.” It’s her first foray into the world of toilet paper design, but Perry says this project wasn’t too different to those she’s completed before. “I think no matter what the final use, my work always has a lot of colour, humour, and a touch of the unexpected!”

Give someone a Christmas gift they're guaranteed to use—Who Gives A Crap is available here.

Related:

Toilet Paper Just Got Crafty Thanks to Beci Orpin

Your Bathroom Deserves Craig & Karl Designer Toilet Paper Tushy, the Portable Bidet, Is Adorable