Bath Tissue vs Toilet Paper | She's SINGLE Magazine
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Bath Tissue vs Toilet Paper

by Venus Sanders | Trending News & Current Events

It is not abnormal for someone to question the difference between ‘bath tissue’ and ‘toilet paper’…if let’s say, there is a difference at all between the two. We see the product derived from the 14th century, as early as 1393 when an annual supply of 720,000 sheets of toilet paper was produced for general consumption.


The Chinese led this newfound invention as they [the Chinese] do not wash with water after they have done their necessities, but they wipe themselves with paper. During this time elsewhere, wealthy people wiped themselves with wool, lace or hemp. The less fortunate, however, used their hand, defecating into rivers or cleaning themselves with various materials such as rags, wood shavings, leaves, grass, hay, stones, sand, moss, water, snow, ferns, plant husks, fruit skins, seashells, or corncobs according to sources. In other words, for quite some time the very use of toilet paper or bath tissue was considered a luxury.



The words are used interchangeably as they both serve the same function. Some refer to toilet tissue as bath tissue considering it is something that is kept in their bathroom. The obvious function of bath tissue aka toilet paper is for hygienic purposes. The basic types of bath tissue are made of either recycled paper or virgin paper. Virgin paper is made of wood pulp.


Recycled paper is made from used papers and various types and takes 50% less energy to produce. Typically, those of the recycled nature are not as soft and are of lower grade. But that is not the case for Bamboo toilet paper.


After testing one of our recommended toilet rolls, one user wrote, “Upon opening the package and feeling the product for the first time I was pleasantly surprised. It was softer and felt thicker than I’d anticipated.”



Modern toilet paper inventor Joseph Gayetty is widely responsible for making toilet paper commercially available in the United States. With that came great responsibility and the need for fast production versus natural toilet paper. But what was the process? The manufacturing of this product has a long period of refinement, considering that in the late 1930s, a selling point was that toilet paper would now be ‘splinter free’. The adoption of flush toilet paper increased as the heavier paper was prone to clogging the toilet preventing sewer gasses from escaping and thus a softer, 2-ply option was introduced in 1942 by St. Andrew Mills.


It is from here that another product was born: wet wipes for after defecation and to be used for women during menstruation. Since then, toilet paper has grown worldwide and is available in several types of paper, a variety of patterns, decorations, and textures and it may be moistened or perfumed. Although some fragrances can cause problems for users who are allergic to perfumes. To keep their products safe, Bamboo Essentials are perfume-free and sustainable.


A good thing to note is that natural toilet paper is brown and is bleached to become white. Reel Paper have been working with manufacturers to bring you sustainable toilet paper that is free from all dyes but remains soft and perfect for everyday use. For now, most medical experts do advise men and women to use only white paper that is not treated with additional or unnecessary materials or chemicals.


If you’re interested in learning more about facial tissue – which can also cause some confusion among its users – it is safe to say the main distinction is that facial tissue is typically softer because the user is touching some area of their face with it and because the nerve ending in the face can feel the difference - more so when you have a cold, allergies and are putting the paper to use several times an hour. Can toilet paper be used for this as well? Yes. 2 ply and 3 ply are usually the better options because they are less likely to break apart during use.


What’s the takeaway? There is no difference between the two terms. But what’s important to note is how we can make environmentally conscious decisions. One tree produces about 800 rolls of toilet paper and about 83 million rolls are produced daily making the global toilet paper consumption 27,000 trees daily. Let’s work together to save the planet.

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