infographic

F R I D AY, A U G U S T 2 6 T H I S
N
A T
I
O
N
A
L
D
FIVE THINGS
YOU DIDN’T
KNOW ABOUT
TOILET PAPER:
1
It’s really,
really old:
The first
documented use of
toilet paper dates
back to the 6th
century AD, in early
medieval China.1
2
Manufacturers
were doing a
brisk business
well before the
Renaissance:
By the early 14th
century, in
modern-day Zhejiang
(China) province
alone, ten million
packages of toilet
paper were
produced.2
3
Marketing
changed the
game:
Joseph Gayetty, an
inventor, is widely
credited as the
inventory of
modern
commercially
available toilet
paper, first
introduced in 1857.3
4
It’s a big,
big business:
Today, more than
seven billion rolls
of toilet paper are
sold yearly in the
U.S. alone.4
A Y
5
The
innovation
continues:
Toilet paper made
from rapidly
renewable
plant-based fibers
such as wheat and
bamboo is
commercially
available and puts
less pressure on
natural forests.5
BONUS FACT:
At Veritiv, we sell a lot of it.
A whole, whole lot.
Veritiv sells almost half a billion rolls
of toilet paper each year6
Enough to stretch from the Earth to
the moon and back 31 times!7
1, 2, 4 Dr. Joseph Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 123
3 http://www.biography.com/news/obscure-inventors-and-inventions
5 http://www.kcprofessional.com/sustainability/greenharvest-products/plant-fiber
6 Veritiv sells approximately 4.4 million cases of bathroom tissue per year. Statistics assume
96 rolls per case, 500 squares per roll, and a standard square size of 4.5” x 4.5”
7 http://www.space.com/18145-how-far-is-the-moon.html