Nowadays, no one can imagine living without toilet paper. It is such a commodity that everyone sees and uses it every day without even thinking about when, where and by whom it was invented.
If we could travel back in time, what we would learn about the history of paper? Who invented toilet paper? Who invented the modern toilet paper roll? Let’s go?
Early Chinese writers, among them Yan Zhitui, mentioned toilet paper in their works, in around 589 B.C.
It is known that a Muslim traveller, on a trip to China, have referred to people's hygiene, mentioning the use of paper instead of water.
Yuan Dynasty
Ten million toilet paper rolls were produced annually during the Yuan Dynasty. Each roll had approximately one thousand to ten thousand sheets of toilet paper.
Ming Dynasty
During the Ming Dynasty, over 700.000 sheets of paper were produced for the exclusive use of the Chinese imperial court. In this period, toilet paper was considered a luxury good.
Therefore, we can say that the Chinese were the pioneers in the use of paper for personal hygiene. However, the mass production of toilet paper only began in the 19th century! Let's travel to the Modern Era…
The great driver in the Modern Era was Joseph Gayetty who discovered how to make toilet paper commercially available. At the time, it was sold as a medical product "completely pure for your hygiene". However, since it was sold in flat sheets, it failed to achieve the expected commercial success.
Only later, in 1879, a company based in Philadelphia began producing the first toilet paper rolls. Nonetheless, despite being quite successful at selling perforated toilet paper rolls, the company did not register any kind of patent.
Therefore, toilet paper officially arrived at the end of the 19th century by way of Seth Wheeler, who registered several patents among them:
1. Patent for the idea of perforating the paper roll (Patent No. 117355 registered on 25th July 1871);
2. Patent for a roll of toilet paper or "normal" wrapping paper perforated in the center, supported by a tube (Patent No. 272369 registered on 13th February 1883);
3. Patent for the perforated toilet paper roll as known nowadays (Patent No. 465588 registered on 22nd December 1891).
Originating from China and with many years of history, toilet paper has characteristics that differentiate it from other types of paper such as its easy decomposition, suitable for sanitary use.
Seth Wheeler has officially become known as the inventor of the toilet paper roll as we know it today.
What are the main characteristics that consumers look for in a toilet paper?
One of the main problems faced by early toilet paper users was the presence of tiny wooden splinters in the paper. That is unthinkable today, thanks to advances in technology, but in the early years of toilet paper commercialization was somewhat common. The problem was caused by the early manufacturing processes' inability to remove all the wood chips from the trees, and consequently the paper could contain tiny wooden splinters that could cause discomfort when in contact with the skin.
As a result, toilet paper production was a process that took a long time to perfect.
In 1935, the Northern Tissue Company launched a softer and "splinter-free" paper brand.
This discovery was surpassed in 1942 when the St. Andrew's Paper Mill, in England, developed the first two-ply toilet paper.
Since the mid-20th century, softness and sustainability have been among the characteristics most sought after by consumers. The paper industry has evolved a great deal over the years, and the Amoos' brand products are a fine example.
The Navigator Company, producer of Tissue paper since 2015, has a vision of continuing to improve its paper, focusing on sustainability and never forgetting the fundamental characteristics such as softness and resistance.
However, we seek to go further, investing in the development of innovative technologies to continue to develop an improved generation of papers:
