Paper Towel
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A paper towel is an absorbent, disposable
towel A towel () is a piece of absorption (chemistry), absorbent cloth or paper used for drying or wiping a surface. Towels draw moisture through direct contact. Bathing towels and hand towels are usually made of cotton, linen, bamboo and Microfiber, ...
made from paper. In Commonwealth English, paper towels for kitchen use are also known as kitchen rolls, kitchen paper, or kitchen towels. For home use, paper towels are usually sold in a roll of perforated sheets, but some are sold in stacks of pre-cut and pre-folded layers for use in paper-towel dispensers. Unlike cloth towels, paper towels are
disposable A disposable (also called disposable product) is a product designed for a single use after which it is recycled or is disposed as solid waste. The term is also sometimes used for products that may last several months (e.g. disposable air filt ...
and intended to be used only once. Paper towels absorb water because they are loosely woven, which enables water to travel between the fibers, even against gravity ( capillary effect). They have similar purposes to conventional towels, such as drying hands, wiping windows and other surfaces, dusting, and cleaning up spills. Paper towel dispensers are commonly used in toilet facilities shared by many people (such as at schools or shopping malls), as they are often considered more hygienic than hot-air hand dryers or shared cloth towels.


History

In 1907, the
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
-based
Scott Paper Company The Scott Paper Company was a manufacturer and marketer of sanitary tissue products with operations in 22 countries. Its products were sold under a variety of well-known brand names, including ''Scott Tissue'', ''Cottonelle'', ''Baby Fresh'', ''S ...
developed the first restroom tissues. They started the paper towel industry when they began selling Sani-Towels and used advertising to convince the public that paper towels were essential for personal hygiene. In 1919, William E. Corbin, Henry Chase, and Harold Titus began experimenting with paper towels in the Research and Development building of the Brown Company in
Berlin, New Hampshire Berlin ( ) is a city along the Androscoggin River in Coös County, New Hampshire, Coös County in northern New Hampshire, United States. It is the northernmost city in New Hampshire and the only city in Coös County. The population was 9,425 at ...
. By 1922, Corbin perfected their product and began mass-producing it at the Cascade Mill on the
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
/ Gorham line. This product was called Nibroc Paper Towels (Corbin spelled backwards). In 1931, the Scott Paper Company introduced their paper towel rolls for kitchens. Paper towels are commonly used for drying hands in public bathrooms. In the 21st century, however, electric jet-air dryers have threatened their dominance. While there is no clear
scientific consensus Scientific consensus is the generally held judgment, position, and opinion of the majority or the supermajority of scientists in a particular field of study at any particular time. Consensus is achieved through scholarly communication at confer ...
over which method is more hygienic, the paper towel industry and hand dryer manufacturers such as Dyson have each attempted to discredit each other by funding studies which spur sensationalist headlines and running advertisements. The
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
battle has also been fueled by animosity between both sides.


Production

Paper towels are made from either virgin or recycled paper pulp, which is extracted from wood or fiber crops. They are sometimes bleached during the production process to lighten coloration,Sasser, Sue Lynn
Paper Towels
from the
Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
website. Retrieved on June 29, 2007
and may also be decorated with colored images on each square (such as flowers or teddy bears). Resin size is used to improve the wet strength. Paper towels are packed individually and sold as stacks, or are held on a continuous roll, and come in two distinct classes: domestic and institutional. Many companies produce paper towels. Some common brand names are Bounty, Seventh Generation, Scott, Viva, and Kirkland brand among many others.


Market

Tissue products in North America, including paper towels, are divided into consumer and commercial markets, with household consumer usage accounting for approximately two thirds of total North American consumption. Commercial usage, or otherwise any use outside of the household, accounts for the remaining third of North American consumption. The growth in commercial use of paper towels can be attributed to the migration from folded towels (in public bathrooms, for example) to roll towel dispensers, which reduces the amount of paper towels used by each patron. Within the
forest product A forest product is any material derived from forestry for direct consumption or commercial use, such as lumber, paper, or fodder for livestock. Wood, by far the dominant product of forests, is used for many purposes, such as wood fuel (e.g. in f ...
s industry, paper towels are a major part of the "tissue market", second only to
toilet paper Toilet paper (sometimes called toilet/bath/bathroom tissue, or toilet roll) is a tissue paper product primarily used to clean the human anus, anus and surrounding region of Human feces, feces (after defecation), and to clean the external gen ...
. Globally, Americans are the highest
per capita ''Per capita'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "by heads" or "for each head", and idiomatically used to mean "per person". Social statistics The term is used in a wide variety of social science, social sciences and statistical research conte ...
users of paper towels in the home, at approximately yearly consumption per capita (combined consumption approximately per year). This is 50% higher than in Europe and nearly 500% higher than in Latin America. By contrast, people in the Middle East tend to prefer reusable cloth towels, and people in Europe tend to prefer reusable cleaning sponges. Paper towels are popular primarily among people who have disposable income, so their use is higher in wealthy countries and low in developing countries. Growing hygiene consciousness during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
led to a boost in paper towel market growth.


Environmental issues

Paper towels are a global product with rising production and consumption. Being second in tissue consumption only to
toilet paper Toilet paper (sometimes called toilet/bath/bathroom tissue, or toilet roll) is a tissue paper product primarily used to clean the human anus, anus and surrounding region of Human feces, feces (after defecation), and to clean the external gen ...
(36% vs. 45% in the U.S.), the proliferation of paper towels, which are mostly non- recyclable, has globally adverse effects on the environment. However, paper towels made from recycled paper do exist, and are sold at many outlets. Some are manufactured from bamboo, which grows faster than trees. Electric hand dryers are an alternative to using paper towels for hand drying. However, paper towels are quicker than hand dryers: after ten seconds, paper towels achieve 90% dryness, while hot air dryers require 40 seconds to achieve a similar dryness. Electric hand dryers may also spread bacteria to hands and clothing.Ngeow YF, Ong HW, Tan P. Dispersal of bacteria by an electric air hand dryer. Malays J Pathol. 1989 Aug;11:53-6.


See also

*
Hand washing Hand washing (or handwashing), also known as hand hygiene, is the act of cleaning one's hands with soap, soap or handwash and water to remove viruses, bacteria, microorganisms, dirt, grease, and other harmful or unwanted substances stuck to th ...
*
Handle-o-Meter The Handle-o-Meter is a testing machine developed by Johnson & Johnson and now manufactured by Thwing-Albert that measures the "handle" of sheeted materials: a combination of its surface friction and flexibility. Originally, it was used to test the ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paper Towel Paper products Cleaning products Personal hygiene products Domestic implements Disposable products American inventions 20th-century inventions Towels