National Toilet Paper Day. Vector illustration.

Contributed by AFFLINK

Hold on to your seat. National Toilet Paper Day is coming up. It’s celebrated each year on Aug. 26. Why National Toilet Paper Day? Most of us never even think about toilet paper - until we walk into a restroom and there is none.

“And for (jan/san) distributors, there is an excellent reason to honor National Toilet Paper Day,” says Michael Wilson, vice president of AFFLINK, a leading sales and marketing organization of distributors throughout the country. “That’s because the sale of toilet paper has traditionally been one of their best-selling items.”

Revenue from the sale of toilet paper is expected to top $15 billion in 2022 in the United States, according to Statista, a research organization. Further, annual sales should increase about 5 percent each year through 2026.

“We don’t know who or how National Toilet Paper Day started,” says Wilson. “However, whoever started it deserves a shout-out for honoring this unassuming but important invention.”

But here’s what we do know about toilet paper:

• It was invented in China in the 14th century.

• The first toilet paper sold on a roll in the U.S. was on Aug. 26, 1871.

• Roll toilet paper was patented in 1883.

• Today, the U.S. uses more toilet paper than any other country in the world.

• The U.S. is the biggest exporter of toilet paper.

• At one time, toilet paper came in different shades. This ended in 2004, likely due to environmental reasons.

 

Addressing this last point, Wilson says the toilet paper industry has made giant strides to become greener and environmentally responsible.
“Today, most toilet paper marketed in the U.S. is designed to decompose within seconds of becoming wet,” according to Wilson. “This was not the case 15 or more years ago.”


"Today, most toilet paper marketed in the U.S. is designed to decompose within seconds of becoming wet," according to Wilson. "This was not the case 15 or more years ago."

He adds that, “except [for] during the pandemic, we’ve always taken toilet paper for granted. Now we know how valuable it can be. Let's honor National Toilet Paper Day. It is truly an unsung hero.”