On Monday, Scott Naturals Tube-Free toilet paper will go on sale in Walmarts and Sam's Clubs across the Northeast United States. If it sells well, it'll expand nationally, and then globally. Meanwhile, I just don't know what to think anymore.
It's like up is down and down is up. Kimberly-Clark, the manufacturer of Scott's toilet paper, explains that while the cylinder in the center of the rolls won't be completely round, they'll still fit on existing toilet paper bars. Phew. And customers will get the added bonus of being able to use every square down to the last one, which will no longer be glued to the customary cardboard tube.
But what of that tube? There are 17 billion of them produced annually in the United States, accounting for 160 million pounds of trash (as well as countless pairs of makeshift binoculars). According to USA Today, Kimberly-Clark brand manager Doug Daniels "won't disclose the tubeless technology used but says it's a special winding process. A similar process is used on tissue the company sells to businesses but not to consumers." And if the tube-less toilet paper doesn't start a full-on revolution, Daniels says, the company may expand the technology to paper towel, too. That might be where I draw the line. [USA Today]
Send an email to Kyle VanHemert, the author of this post, at kvanhemert@gizmodo.com.
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