Toilet Paper

Okay, I admit this is a strange topic, but it's what's on my mind right now. I recently opened a new pack of toilet paper. I have been using this brand, Quilted Northern, for a while. For some reason, the roll of toilet paper looked odd to me. I just happened to have a roll of the old package so I compared the two. The new roll was different. It was a quarter of an inch shorter. The new package was pink for breast cancer awareness. I'm sure this was done as a way to cut down on costs. I assume the manufacturer didn't think anyone would notice. I don't know if the rolls are only shorter for the pink packages or if they will remain this new size. It's true that this shorter roll will allow the profits per package to be higher. The company may be donating this extra profit or they may simply be using it to cover the cost of what they are donating for breast cancer awareness.

Either way, this is just the latest in a long line of diminishing products. When you open a box of crackers, you may notice that there are fewer in the box. There is less of many products then there used to be although they are often still offered at the same price as before. Even Girl Scout cookies are not immune to this. There are fewer cookies in a box of Girl Scout cookies then there used to be. We, as consumers, are paying more money for the products we use. In many cases, we are not even aware of this. A company will boldly broadcast when they have 20% more of their product then the competitor has, but will somehow ignore the fact that they have 20% less than they use to have. There is little we can do to combat this. The companies need to improve their bottom line as much as we need to save money. By being aware of this, we can at least compare the products being offered dollar for dollar and ounce for ounce. Be a smart shopper and check out your toilet paper roll the next time you have to go.