Report: Toilet paper shortage a result of people being home more, not hoarding

By now, most have heard about confrontations between people wanting to buy toilet paper during the coronavirus pandemic that have reached the point of authorities having to intervene.

A recent report from USA Today suggests the idea that people have been selfishly hoarding the highly coveted tool may not paint an accurate picture of what’s truly going on.

According to the report, experts say the lack of bathroom tissue at stores was caused by a shift in demand for the products’ use at home and well as “kinks” in the supply chain between factories and stores.

Part of the issue: Many people are now using the bathroom in different locations than they were prior to the pandemic. At home vs. the workplace, which often uses a different type of toilet paper than people use at home.

Why is there still such a lack of toilet paper? Didn’t everyone buy their lifetime supply like a month ago? Did people already use their lifetime supply and are now buying a second lifetime supply? Are people isolating at home just pooping every half hour? #toiletpaper #COVID19

— Marcus Afzali (@ommda84) April 10, 2020

Businesses typically use one-ply, recycled-fiber toilet paper, which is normally found on rollers at businesses and public spaces. Retail toilet paper for the home is made of two-ply virgin fiber and is made much softer.

Georgia-Pacific, maker of Quilted Northern toilet paper and other paper products, estimated a 40% increase of average daily usage at home, according to USA Today.

The new demands have “increased on retail, and it’s staying steady or surged in the commercial market” because of use at busy health care facilities and other essential businesses, Eric Abrercrombie, a Georgia-Pacific spokesman told USA Today.

So why can't we find toilet paper yet? We look into what's going on. https://t.co/3qPGRKzUjz

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) April 10, 2020

However, that’s not to say that we are in danger of factories not being able to produce bathroom tissue. The two main ingredients used to make toilet paper — paper fiber and water — are in strong supply. In fact, some American factories have switched to 24/7 operations.

Arist Mostorides, president of family care for Kimberly-Clark North America, which makes Cottonelle toilet paper, told USA Today that the ramped up production is “a significant amount it cover what we think will be used with people traveling less and staying home more.”

All of this should be comforting news — for obvious reasons. And, maybe even more obvious, numbers for retail toilet paper demand reached unprecedented heights in March with $1.45 billion in sales in March, which was up 112% from last year.