Hi everyone!
Our soap products are used for so many special skin care needs. We receive calls and emails from our loyal customers around the world letting us know how effective the cleansing bar is at helping them. Dermatologists, primary care doctors, and yes, even for our loving pets and farm animals - veterinarians - are among our best friends in helping get the message out.
Did you know? Our soap products are in fact distributed directly by many dermatologists throughout the USA to their patients right at the doctor's office.
But this month we thought we'd touch on a subject that's more about - well, just cleanliness - yes indeed, the simple hand wash that our sulfur soap is very effective at.
So let's have some fun with the topic and for this month's newsletter - how about we talk about toilet hygiene !
Really, our 10% sulfur soap is a wonderful toilet soap. By now, our readers know that nature's element sulfur is excellent to combat both bacteria and also fungus.
The antiseptic qualities of 10% sulfur soap make it an ideal soap to have handy after using the toilet. Try it and place a bar at your bathroom sink, today!
I luv that sulfur soap lather when I wash my hands, and I hope you do, too.
And now for the really fun part.
About Toilet hygiene....
Have you ever wondered about the history of toilet paper? Americans use more toilet paper per person than any other people on the planet. So we thought it might be interesting to delve into its history and explore the habit of using toilet paper and how it all evolved into current practice.
It's also amazing when compared with other peoples of the world that most Americans still just wipe. In the American toilet room whether at the office or home, you rarely find bidets or spray hoses for water to rinse and clean while sitting on the toilet. And if you're a world traveler, you know what we're talking about here!
So first an outline history of the evolution of toilet paper and then we'll get to the fodder - errrrr, or should we say, the rest of the story,
Toilet Paper Timeline
1391: The King's Pleasure — Chinese emperors begin ordering toilet paper in sheets measuring 2 feet by 3 feet.
1596: The Royal Flush — Sir John Harington, a godson of Queen Elizabeth I, invents the first flushing toilet (a distinction often attributed to plumber Thomas Crapper).
1857: Every Sheet Bears My Name — New York entrepreneur Joseph C. Gayetty manufactures the first packaged pre-moistened sheets of bathroom tissue — called "therapeutic paper" — in packs of 500 for 50 cents. Gayetty is so proud of his innovation that he had his name imprinted on each sheet.
1861-1904: The Gifts of Thomas Crapper — British plumber Thomas Crapper revolutionizes the toilet with a series of plumbing-related patents.
1872: Kimberly Meets Clark — Charles Benjamin Clark, a 28-year-old Civil War veteran, recruits John A. Kimberly to join him in building a paper mill in Wisconsin.
1890: On a Roll — Scott Paper introduces toilet paper on a roll. But the paper goods company is somewhat embarrassed to be associated with such an "unmentionable" thing and refuses to put its name on the product. Instead, the toilet paper bears the name of intermediaries. As a result, at the turn of the century, the Waldorf Hotel in New York becomes a leader in the toilet paper business.
1916: Gas Masks Become Sanitary Napkins — Kimberly-Clark begins concentrating on a special wadding paper. With World War I brewing in Europe, this product, Cellucotton, was adapted for use as a filter in gas masks and bandages. Nurses began using it as sanitary pads. Cellucotton was renamed "Cellu-Naps," and then "Kotex."
1920: The Tissue and the Pop-Up Box — Kimberly-Clark introduces the Kleenex tissue. Nine years later, this product is marketed in the patented Pop-Up box.
1925: Great Scott! — Scott is recognized as the leading toilet paper company in the world. (Kimberly-Clark acquired it in 1995.)
1928: From Charming to Charmin — Hoberg paper introduces Charmin. The logo — a woman's head from a cameo pin — was designed to appeal to feminine fashions of the day. A female employee called the packaging "Charming," and the product's brand name was born.
1932: Wiping Away Depression — Charmin tries to mitigate the pain of the Great Depression by introducing the economy-sized four-roll pack.
1942: A Softer World — St. Andrew's Paper Mill in England introduces two-ply toilet paper.
1944: Patriotic Toilet Paper Duty — The United States honors Kimberly-Clark with an "E" Award (for excellence in commercial services) for its heroic effort supplying soldiers fighting in World War II.
1964: Enter Mr. Whipple — He appears for more than 20 years in TV, radio and print advertising. The real George Whipple was the president of the Benton & Bowles advertising agency, which came up with the "Please, don't squeeze the Charmin" ad campaign. He sold the rights to his name to Procter & Gamble for $1. Dick Wilson, the vaudeville veteran who portrayed Mr. Whipple on TV, later recalled his agent calling him about the project.
"My agent asked me, 'What do you think of toilet paper?' And I told him, 'I think everybody should use it.'"
For his role in making Charmin the No. 1 toilet paper in America, Wilson's salary grew to $300,000 a year, and Procter & Gamble promised him a "lifetime supply" of toilet paper.1973: The Johnny Carson Toilet Paper Scare — Johnny Carson makes a joke about the United States facing an acute shortage of toilet paper. This prompts viewers to run out to stores and begin hoarding. Carson apologizes the next day for causing the scare and retracts his quote.
1991: Covert TP — The U.S. military uses toilet paper to camouflage its tanks in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War.
1995: The Great Toilet Paper Caper — A Philadelphia city employee is charged with stealing $34,000 worth of toilet paper from Veterans Stadium just before an Eagles football game. The accused, Ricardo Jefferson, was fired. City spokesman Tony Radwanski said, "We don't really know how long this was going on. We only looked at a 10-month period from October 1994 to August 1995, but man, he really wiped that stadium clean."
1995: Bathroom Merger — Kimberly-Clark and Scott Paper join forces. A year later the company has earnings of $1.34 billion, not to mention Cottonelle, the second best-selling toilet paper.
1999: Paperless Toilet — Japanese inventors unveil the paperless toilet. The device washes, rinses and blow-dries the user's bottom with a heating element.
2000: Men Are From Folders, Women Are From Wadders — A Kimberly-Clark marketing survey on bathroom habits finds that women are "wadders" and men are "folders." Women also tend to use much more toilet paper than men.
2007: Toto engineers design a compartmentalized, portable bidet system. It's battery operated and allows people to get clean anywhere - at work, home, or while traveling, with only a small amount of water. Toilet paper consumption drops significantly amongst users, as toilet paper is used just to blot up moisture. No plumbing needed. A big commercial hit around the world, but it doesn't make a dent in the USA. Only a tiny fraction of toilet savvy consumers in America show interest.
2009: US toilet paper consumption surpasses $9 billion in annual sales.
2012: Inventors at Hygienna come up with the idea to design the perfect solution for toilet hygiene at home, work or travels. The Hygienna Solo is introduced.
The rest of the story. Maybe we should call it -
History of toilet paper, or " How did we get into this toilet paper mess !" :
Yep, for generations - hundreds ... and yes, thousands of years, people have found nifty ways to clean up after defecation.
Many civilized societies learned and passed down through training of their youth the technique of the left hand's middle finger & sprinkling with water. The most common solution - rather heathen, was simply to grab what was at hand and other items around whenever available: snow, moss, hay, leaves, grass, sheep's wool—and, later, thanks to the printing press—newspapers, magazines, and pages from books and catalogs.
The ancient Greeks used clay and stone. In ancient Rome, the public toilets were supplied with a sponge attached to the end of a stick. This sponge was soaked in a bucket of brine. The wealthier Romans of the time used wool and rosewater.
But the idea of a commercial product designed solely to wipe one's bum? That started about 150 years ago, --- in the U.S.A. And In less than a century, marketing people with their eyes on sales revenue and profits turned something disposable - and meant to just wipe wetness away - into something indispensable.
We wonder by now how many would have asked the obvious question? Why don't toilet paper manufacturers help educate people to learn proper toilet hygiene?
When was the last time you saw an advert from a toilet paper manufacturer discussing the use of how to use toilet paper properly? Would they dare re-introduce how to use water to effectively clean while sitting on the toilet? (just like using water to wash hands, or when you take a water shower to cleanse your body!)
Fact is, you don't see this. And the reason should be obvious! If they did, they wouldn't sell as much toilet paper !!! .. -- and like the ringing from a cow bell, that is the first wake up call. Still interested? Read on!
HOW TOILET PAPER GOT ON A ROLL
The first products designed specifically to wipe one's nethers were aloe-infused sheets of manila hemp dispensed from tissue boxes. They were invented in 1857 by a New York entrepreneur named Joseph Gayetty.
His product was marketed and intended to be used as a medical accessory. Eventually it was buried as a commercial disaster, the product remained in licensed use until late 1920s. It was sold in a package of 500 papers (scented and watermarked with manufacturers name) and was advertised as a help for people who had troubles with hemorrhoids.
Gayetty was so proud of his therapeutic bathroom paper that he had his name printed on each sheet. But his success was limited. America was very much an immigrant society. And the old world way of proper cleaning with water was still established. Besides, Americans soon grew accustomed to wiping the wetness away from rags and paper refuse like torn pages from the old Sears Roebuck catalog. They saw no need to spend money on something that was free.
During the latter part of the 19th century, other inventors tried to create successful products.
Toilet paper took its next leap forward in 1890, when two brothers named Clarence and E. Irvin Scott popularized the concept of toilet paper on a roll. The Scotts' brand became more successful than Gayetty's medicated wipes, in part because they built a steady trade selling toilet paper to hotels and drugstores. But it was still an uphill battle to get the public to openly buy the product, largely because Americans remained embarrassed by bodily functions. In fact, the Scott brothers were so ashamed of the nature of their work that they didn't take proper credit for their innovation until 1902.
"No one wanted to ask for it by name," says Dave Praeger, author of Poop Culture: How America Is Shaped by Its Grossest National Product. "It was so taboo that you couldn't even talk about the product." By 1930, the German paper company Hakle began using the tag line, "Ask for a roll of Hakle and you won't have to say toilet paper!"
As time passed, toilet tissues slowly became an American staple. But widespread acceptance of the product didn't officially occur until a new technology demanded it.
At the end of the 19th century, more and more homes were being built with sit-down flush toilets tied to indoor plumbing systems. And because people required a product that could be flushed away with minimal damage to the pipes, corncobs and moss no longer cut it. In no time, toilet paper ads boasted that the product was recommended by both doctors and plumbers.
THE STRENGTH OF GOING SOFT
So in the early 1900s, toilet paper was still being marketed as a medicinal item. But in 1928, the Hoberg Paper Company tried a different tack. On the advice of its ad men, the company introduced a brand called Charmin and fitted the product with a feminine logo that depicted a beautiful woman. The genius of the campaign was that by evincing softness and femininity, the company could avoid talking about toilet paper's actual purpose. Charmin was enormously successful, and the tactic helped the brand survive the Great Depression. (It also helped that, in 1932, Charmin began marketing economy-size packs of four rolls.) Decades later, the dainty ladies were replaced with babies and bear cubs—advertising vehicles that still stock the aisles today.
By the 1970s, America could no longer conceive of life without toilet paper. Case in point: In December 1973, Tonight Show host Johnny Carson joked about a toilet paper shortage during his opening monologue. But America didn't laugh. Instead, TV watchers across the country ran out to their local grocery stores and bought up as much of the stuff as they could. In 1978, a TV Guide poll named Mr. Whipple—the affable grocer who implored customers, "Please don't squeeze the Charmin"—the third best-known man in America, behind former President Richard Nixon and the Rev. Billy Graham.
Currently, the United States spends more than $9 billion a year on toilet tissue—more than any other nation in the world.
Some reports conservatively estimate that Americans, on average, use about 60 squares a day and at least 55 lbs. a year. It's thought the actual amount is quite a bit more! Believe it or not, toilet paper manufacturers have learned that there is a small but growing percentage of consumers who are using at least a half roll of that super -plush, toilet paper during EACH TOILET USE !!! And they are focusing on this group of toilet paper maniacs to push upon them more expensive high-end toilet paper products because they know they will spend, spend, spend - wipe wipe wipe to try and get clean. It is simply amazing .....
Of course, those high-end super plush toilet papers also have very high profit margins. Wouldn't you know?
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| Doesn't it make you wonder why anyone should need SO MUCH toilet paper! Wow! |
Even still, relative to the rest of the world, the toilet paper market in the United States and its potential for significant growth has for the most part plateaued. It's what an M.B.A. would refer to as a Cash Cow. Pretty much the toilet paper industry will be pushing onto American's psyche the need to upgrade to more expensive ultra-luxurious toilet papers - plush, like a cushion, maybe with some sort of cream, etc. Whatever it might take to differentiate in the marketplace and most importantly, make more profit. So stay tuned America as they try and convince you to spend more on your toilet paper ....
The real growth in the industry is happening in developing countries. There, it's booming. Toilet paper revenues in Latin America from 1995 to 2012 has grown exponentially. In fast growing South East Asian countries like Thailand, toilet paper usage is seeing 20% annual growth - year over year. The radical upswing in sales is believed to be driven by a combination of changing demographics, social expectations, and disposable income.
"The spread of globalization can kind of be measured by the spread of Western bathroom practices," says Praeger. When average citizens in a country start buying toilet paper, wealth and consumerism have arrived. It signifies that people not only have extra cash to spend, but they've also come under the influence of Western marketing.
AMERICA WITHOUT TOILET PAPER
Even as the markets boom in developing nations, toilet paper manufacturers find themselves needing to charge more per roll to make more profit. Making money is the name of the game. Production and transporation costs are rising. During the past few years, pulp has become more expensive, energy costs are rising, and water is becoming more expensive. Get the prices up. Shift the perception that you're getting more toilet paper with less rolls. Do what it takes to grow revenue & most importantly profits! The question is, if toilet paper becomes a luxury item, can Americans live without it?
The truth is that Americans, of course, did live without it, - for a very long time! And even now, people with common sense still do. No money tree needed!
In Japan, the Washlet—a toilet that comes equipped with a bidet and an air-blower—is growing increasingly popular. And all over the world, water remains one of the most common methods of self-cleaning. Many places in India, the Middle East, and Asia, for instance, when a spray bidet is not next to the toilet flush bar, a bucket and spigot do just fine. But as our economy continues to circle the drain, will Americans part with their beloved toilet paper in order to adopt more money-saving measures? Or will we keep flushing our $$$ cash away together with that dirty tissue?
It takes education and a dose of common sense to realize that using water to clean is a better way than just wiping with a tissue! I mean - really, when you wake up to get dressed, you take a shower, right? - using water, right ? ! ? Ha ha - You don't just wipe your whole body with a paper towel and hope it cleans you !
Isn't it about time to do it right!
Fact is that the toilet paper ideally should be used to just blot up the moisture left over from the water that was used to get you clean. You shouldn't have all that feces matter on your toilet paper at all! Yuck! And then what about any possible matter that smears elsewhere on you as you wipe? Double yuck!
Common sense does indeed go a long way! Clean with water. And then use a little bit of toilet paper to dry off.
Now that's the way!
So we truly hope that those people who haven't learned yet about the goodness of cleaning up with water while sitting on the toilet, now may see the light!
Try a Hygienna Solo today!
You can use it at home, at work, and when you travel. It is discreet, portable, lightweight, and fits most all types of water bottles being sold in America today. A good choice is the Dasani water bottle. But really, most any water bottle on the market works fine.
Enjoy the new freshness and convenience!
We offer a special promotion for customers in the USA and worldwide to try the Hygienna Solo.
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Thanks to the many references, printed, web-based, and personal:
1. Dave Praeger, author of Poop Culture: How America Is Shaped by Its Grossest National Product.,ISBN 13: 9781932595215, Publisher: Feral House, Publication Date: 2007
2. www.Hygienna.com
3. SulfurSoap.com
4. Mental Floss Magazine, Toilet Paper History: How America Convinced the World to Wipe, Nov 2009.
5. Rose Bruce, "History of Sanitary America, 1750-2010, Chapter 7, Post Defecation- Methods & Practices in America, pages 224-259. Tiawah Private Press, March 2012.
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About innovation: in the early days of our founding, SulfurSoap.com introduced a proprietary traditional formula 10% sulfur soap to the market. Our soap was the first to be sold direct to consumer online - hence, our name 