Have you noticed your toilet paper is narrower?

[AviatorTom]

Charmin and other toilet paper (bathroom tissue) manufacturers have "shrinksized" their product, to keep the price the same.

The rolls are now about 3/8-inch (~1 cm) narrower than they used to be, and the number of sheets in a roll have also decreased by about 5%, all in an effort to keep the price the same.

Toilet paper manufacturers claim that customers won't notice the difference, and if they do, they use marketing tactics, like "the product is stronger so you don't need to use as much" to convince them it's a good idea.

What do you think?

By the way, "shrinksizing" is common in just about every product today, from candy bars (same size, less chocolate) to toothpaste (smaller tube in same size package) to potato chips (fewer chips in same size package, mostly filled with air).

[purplepoppy]

Please don't get my parents started on the size of wagon wheels and Cadbury creme eggs.
The problem with their toilet paper argument is people will use the same number of sheets anyway regardless of strength. However I'm relieved to hear it's shrank because I thought my arse was getting bigger

[AviatorTom]

Smaller Cadbury eggs are an inconvenience but smaller wagon wheels is a big problem. The wagon is made for a specific size wheel and a smaller wheel may not work, and may cause the horse (s) or oxen to work harder to pull it.

[purplepoppy]

Lol. You do know I'm referring to the biscuits right

[AviatorTom]

Oops... no, I thought you were talking about farm wagons. My bad.

[exitseven]

@purplepoppy too funny

[douride2]

Never noticed that but the rolls are smaller.

[OlderAndWiser]

Thanks for MHO!

[exitseven]

Yes it has been that way for over a year. Probably about the same time Biden became president. Coincidence?

[exitseven]

Thanks for the MHO😎

[OlderAndWiser]

I always notice those tactics and particlarly resent the marketing efforts to make it acceptable.

[Adventurer23]

Oh, I've noticed. Even the Canadian brands up here that I used to use (Cashmere and Royale) are smaller too. They either make the rolls narrower or you get less sheets per roll. It's always good to have a look at the measurements and the sheet count on the packaging in particular when shopping. I recently switched to a store brand TP that's way cheaper (but just as soft and durable), and it's width has changed too. I just assume it's made by one of the bigger manufacturers.

But this has been going on with manufacturers for decades now. If they can get away with it, they keep the price the same, but they shrink the size of the package and product instead. Loaves of bread used to be 675 grams and now they're 600 grams. As a tea drinker, they'll put the same amount of bags in a box, but they'll lower the weight of tea in each bag. Cereal manufacturers have been decreasing the size of their boxes for years now too. The way they usually do it is the box's front dimensions stay the same, so it looks the same size when sitting on the shelf, but they make thickness of the box even narrower and give you even less product on the inside. Soon they'll be so narrow that they'll just fall over on the shelf. lol

Manufacturers will even change the shape and contours of the packaging so that when they decrease the amount of product in it, it's not noticeable to consumers. Shampoo bottles are a good example of this. They'll change the shape entirely or add swoops or a twist to the bottle, so that it's impossible to tell the size has changed unless you compare the volume in ml to the older bottle.

Whenever you see something in a new package or something that says "new", or "new formula", you can just about guarantee they've put less product in it. It pays to be a savvy shopper these days.

[BarryLiverstone]

Think it’s supply and demand, makes sense

[thatrandomguyagain]

no I haven't actually