Question

Topic: Student Questions

Improving Toliet Paper One Step At A Time

Posted by Jessica_Castro on 9/12/2008 at 10:12 AM ET 50 Points
For a class assignment we were assigned groups and a certain type of product. We are supposed to pick a product brand and try to improve on it across the board.
My group was assigned to convenience products. They decided toilet paper was just the product (don't ask, i don't even know). Now I have no clue how we would realistically improve on toilet paper. I thought for a moment maybe making them more ecologically friend but that would require taking a hit on the quality of the paper by using less or increasing costs what would most likely be significantly to include more cloth. I'm really drawing a blank on this project and the professor is pretty strict...any ideas?
To continue reading this question and the solution, sign up ... it's free!
SUBSCRIBE
Or, SIGN IN

RESPONSES

  • Posted by GJA-Miami on 9/18/2008 at 10:20 AM Accepted
    You might take the approach that disposable is bad (think 19th Century diapers), and that a combination of jetted water streams (whether in the toilet or from a bidet) and ultra-soft linen towels to finish wiping are the ticket. Naturally, you would want to thoroughly disinfect the wiping towels in boiling water before reusing them (which is probably why this method lost out to toilet paper, but it certainly required less trips to the grocery store and fewer trees were cut down to keep it going)...

    You might also try something on the order of wet-wipes that would probably require fewer sheets than would normally be torn from a roll of dry toilet paper... Think camping...

    Finally, you might consider doing some research to figure out how they do it on the space shuttle. I'm almost certain they don't blow three rolls per week per astronaut!

    Good luck!
  • Posted by Jessica_Castro on 9/18/2008 at 3:07 PM Author
    A friend of mine told me that in China and Taiwan they don't use toilet paper rolls, instead they use totaled paper squares that are stacked on top of one another. I thought this might be a good idea ecologically because we could market it in a paper wrapper instead of plastic and avoid the use of a toilet paper roll that can't be re-used. I don't know how strong this would be though....
BACK TO TOP

Post a Comment

Related Discussions

Community Info

Top 25 Experts
(Student Questions)