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Jan 1, 2009 10:59 pm US/Central
Good Question: Do We Need 3-Ply Toilet Paper?
(WCCO)
A Wisconsin company is flushing convention down the toilet. Not content with simply two-ply toilet paper, Quilted Northern has launched three-ply "Ultra Plush" toilet paper. But do we really need a third ply?
"I don't see the big hoopla about an extra ply. It's not like I'm wiping my nose," said one woman in a downtown Minneapolis department store.
According to Quilted Northern, the new three-ply paper features "two layers of pillowy tissue for extra softness and a third layer for added absorbency."
Even though there's one extra ply, the company says it's "roughly 15 percent thicker than the previous two-ply Quilted Northern Ultra bath tissue."
Toilet paper was invented in 1880, but Scott Paper Company was the first to manufacture it on a roll in 1890. However, the company did not print its name on the rolls, because toilet paper was considered an "unmentionable." Many stores kept toilet paper behind the counter, and customers would ask the store owner for the rolls using code words, like, "Two, please."
Some reports indicate that two-ply toilet paper was invented in England in the 1940s. The three-ply paper innovation took another 60 years to develop. According to the company, "Georgia-Pacific's proprietary mechanical bonding process uses pressure to bond the three plies in Quilted Northern Ultra Plush together. The new third layer provides added heft and flexibility, which means more strength and protection than ever before."
Charmin is the dominant toilet paper right now, and Procter & Gamble's Dewayne Guy told Brandweek Magazine, "Right now, what we've found is that it's not necessarily 'ply' that demonstrates or indicates softness or absorbency. It's the fundamental technology behind the product."
Industry analyst Bill Schmitz told the Associated Press that he's skeptical. He said extra layers make toilet paper stronger, not softer, although he said Georgia Pacific may have added extra fibers for softness.
But "more" is a classic marketing concept that's served the shaving industry well. Gillette owns the marketplace. It upped the ante from the "Mach 3" three-bladed razor to a five-bladed razor called the "Fusion."
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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