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Paper towel

Paper towels are disposable, absorbent sheets manufactured from paper pulp, primarily derived from wood fibers, designed for tasks such as wiping surfaces, drying hands and dishes, absorbing spills, and light cleaning in domestic, commercial, and industrial environments.^[1]^[2]
Invented in 1907 by Arthur Scott, son of a co-founder of the Scott Paper Company, paper towels originated from a batch of rejected, overly thick toilet paper rolls that were embossed to enhance texture and absorbency, then perforated and cut into small sheets marketed as "Sani-Towels" for use in schools to promote hygiene by replacing shared cloth towels.^[2]^[3]^[4]
The manufacturing process involves pulping wood chips, refining and bleaching the pulp, forming a thin web on a machine, creping or embossing it to create air pockets for increased absorbency, bonding layers if multi-ply, and perforating and rolling the sheets for dispensing.^[1]^[5]^[6]
Widely adopted for their convenience and disposability, paper towels have become a staple in modern hygiene and cleaning practices, with the global market valued at around $5.8 billion in 2023 and projected to grow due to rising demand in residential and away-from-home sectors.^[7]^[8]
Notable characteristics include varying ply thicknesses for strength and absorbency, often with additives for antimicrobial properties or patterns for marketing differentiation, though their single-use nature raises ongoing debates about resource consumption versus reusable alternatives in terms of water usage, energy, and landfill contributions during production and disposal.^[1]^[2]

Characteristics and Composition

Materials and Construction

Paper towels are primarily manufactured from wood pulp, consisting of cellulose fibers sourced from softwood trees such as pine or spruce, which yield longer fibers conducive to absorbency and tensile strength.^[9] This pulp may derive from virgin timber or recycled paper sources, with the fibers mechanically or chemically processed into a slurry blended with water and refining agents to facilitate sheet formation.^[1] Hardwood pulps, from trees like eucalyptus, are sometimes incorporated in blends to balance softness, though softwood dominates for structural properties.^[10] Chemical additives play a critical role in enhancing functionality, including wet-strength resins such as polyamide-epichlorohydrin (PAE) polymers, which cross-link fibers to preserve integrity under moisture exposure without fully dissolving the sheet.^[11] Other agents, like urea-formaldehyde or melamine-formaldehyde resins, may be used similarly to impart temporary or permanent wet strength, depending on the formulation.^[12] These resins are applied during the pulping or forming stages, typically at concentrations of 0.5-2% by dry weight, to mitigate fiber swelling and breakdown in aqueous environments.^[13] Construction involves creping the dried pulp sheet against a Yankee dryer to impart flexibility, followed by embossing with patterned rollers to create raised motifs—such as diamonds or grids—that expand bulk, increase surface area for capillary action, and form interstitial voids for liquid trapping.^[14] Single-ply towels feature a single fibrous layer, resulting in a thinner, cost-effective structure suited for basic utility, whereas multi-ply variants bond two or more layers via adhesives or mechanical interleaving, yielding greater thickness, reduced linting, and enhanced tear resistance.^[15] Ply differentiation arises during the lamination step, where premium multi-ply sheets achieve up to 50% higher basis weight compared to single-ply equivalents.^[16]

Physical and Absorptive Properties

Paper towels are engineered for superior liquid absorption relative to their mass, with conventionally produced kitchen varieties typically capable of absorbing 7 to 9 grams of water per gram of fiber, as measured by gravimetric immersion tests on commercial samples.^[17] This capacity arises from the sheet's porous structure, which facilitates capillary action and wicking, enabling rapid uptake without excessive dripping under moderate loads. Absorbency rates can vary by testing method, such as horizontal gravimetric wicking, which quantifies both capacity (in g/g or g/in²) and velocity of liquid spread, with higher-quality products demonstrating sustained performance across repeated uses.^[18] Tensile strength, particularly in wet conditions, ensures structural integrity during use, preventing disintegration upon saturation. Average machine-direction wet tensile strength for U.S. paper towel brands measures approximately 0.53 lbf/in, reflecting retention of at least 15-20% of dry strength due to fiber bonding and additives, as evaluated in comparative studies of softness and durability.^[19] These properties are standardized via ASTM methods, including D828 for overall tensile metrics like breaking force and elongation, and D829 for wet tensile breaking strength suited to highly absorbent tissues prone to damage in moisture.^[20]^[21] Perforations, spaced at intervals of 10-12 inches, enhance tearability along predefined lines without significantly reducing bulk tensile values, supporting single-sheet dispensing.^[22] The creping process imparts flexibility by reducing sheet density and creating micro-folds, which boost stretch (up to 10-20% elongation) and porosity for improved absorbency while maintaining disposability through controlled fiber disruption.^[23] Empirical assessments confirm that such structural modifications correlate with higher in-use performance, balancing softness against mechanical failure under wet shear forces.^[24]

History

Invention and Early Hygiene Motivations (Late 19th to Early 20th Century)

The Scott Paper Company was founded in 1879 in Philadelphia by brothers Clarence Scott and E. Irvin Scott, who initially distributed wholesale paper products before shifting to manufacturing innovations in sanitary tissues, including early rolled toilet paper by 1890.^[25]^[26] These developments laid groundwork for disposable paper hygiene products amid growing awareness of microbial transmission following the establishment of germ theory in the 1880s by scientists like Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch.^[25] By the early 1900s, public health officials increasingly highlighted bacterial cross-contamination from shared cloth items in institutional settings, such as schools, where continuous roller towels—long fabric strips in dispensers—harbored pathogens from multiple users and inadequate laundering, contributing to outbreaks of respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses.^[4]^[27] In response, the Scott Paper Company produced its first paper towel prototype in 1907, consisting of thin, creped tissue sheets perforated for tearing from wall-mounted dispensers, explicitly designed to supplant roller towels in educational facilities and promote single-use disposal to interrupt germ cycles.^[26]^[28] This invention stemmed from direct feedback, including reports from school administrators observing disease spread via contaminated linens, aligning with contemporaneous sanitation campaigns emphasizing disposable barriers against fomites—objects facilitating pathogen transfer.^[4] Early iterations prioritized hygiene efficacy over absorbency or durability, featuring lightweight, non-embossed sheets that were less prone to tearing during dispensing but unsuitable for non-institutional applications like home kitchens.^[2] Such limitations reflected a focus on empirical reduction of reuse-induced bacterial loads rather than consumer convenience.^[29]

Commercial Expansion and Market Adoption (1907–1930s)

Following the 1907 introduction of Sani-Towels by the Scott Paper Company for institutional hand-drying dispensers, primarily in schools and public restrooms to curb germ transmission after a teacher's observation of pupils sharing cloth towels, the product gained traction amid heightened public hygiene awareness post-1918 influenza pandemic.^[26] ^[30] State legislatures in several U.S. regions enacted bans on reusable cloth-roll towels by the 1920s, citing bacterial contamination risks documented in early sanitary engineering reports, which propelled institutional adoption and bolstered Scott's market position.^[31] By 1931, Scott executives, led by vice president Arthur Scott, adapted the restroom success to household applications, launching the first perforated kitchen paper towel rolls marketed for spills, wiping, and general cleaning, thereby establishing a novel consumer grocery category.^[4] ^[32] These rolls emphasized disposability as a superior alternative to laundered cloths, reducing cross-contamination in pre-antibiotic households where bacterial persistence on fabrics was a verified concern in contemporaneous public health literature.^[31] Market penetration accelerated through targeted advertising in the late 1920s and 1930s, with Scott's 1937 Scot Towels branding campaign highlighting quick absorption and sanitation benefits via print ads in consumer magazines, aligning with rising urban household demands for efficient, single-use goods amid increasing apartment living and standardized kitchen setups.^[33] Sales expansion reflected practical advantages over cloth in time-constrained settings, though quantitative growth data from the era remains sparse beyond company reports of category creation.^[4]

Manufacturing Process

Raw Materials Sourcing and Pulping

Raw materials for paper towels primarily consist of virgin wood fibers sourced from sustainably managed forests, supplemented by recycled paper fibers to reduce reliance on virgin pulp. Softwood species such as pine and spruce are favored for their long cellulose fibers, which enhance strength and absorbency essential for towel performance.^[34]^[35]^[36] These forests operate under certification standards like those from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, where annual harvest volumes are balanced by regrowth rates exceeding removal, ensuring long-term fiber availability without net deforestation.^[37] Incorporating post-consumer recycled content, often 50-100% in certain products, diminishes the demand for virgin wood by repurposing waste paper, thereby conserving forest resources while maintaining pulp quality through de-inking processes.^[38]^[39] The pulping stage converts these raw fibers into a uniform slurry suitable for sheet formation. Wood from harvested trees is debarked, chipped into small pieces, and then subjected to either mechanical or chemical pulping. Mechanical pulping grinds chips against rotating stones to separate fibers, yielding high-volume but lignin-rich pulp with lower purity.^[40] Chemical pulping, predominant for absorbent grades like paper towels, employs processes such as the kraft method, where chips are cooked in a solution of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide at high temperatures (around 160-180°C) to dissolve lignin and hemicellulose, isolating cellulose fibers with yields of approximately 45-55% by dry wood mass.^[41]^[42] The resulting pulp is screened and washed to eliminate impurities like knots, bark residues, and undissolved lignin, producing a clean, watery slurry (consistency of 1-5% solids) ready for further refining.^[43] Bleaching follows to achieve the desired whiteness and brightness, typically using elemental chlorine-free (ECF) or totally chlorine-free (TCF) methods in modern facilities to minimize environmental discharge of chlorinated compounds. ECF employs chlorine dioxide as the primary agent, while TCF relies on oxygen, peroxide, or ozone, reducing dioxin formation risks associated with traditional chlorine gas.^[44]^[45] These processes brighten pulp to ISO levels of 80-90 without compromising fiber integrity. Pulping operations are water-intensive, requiring 10-20 cubic meters per ton of pulp for dilution, cooking, and washing, but closed-loop systems recycle water multiple times—often exceeding 10 cycles per mill—with over 90% returned to natural sources after treatment, mitigating net consumption.^[46]^[47] Empirical data indicate that one metric ton of chemical pulp derives from about 2.5 tons of wood chips, equivalent to wood from 10-17 average-sized trees depending on species growth rates and pulping efficiency.^[48]^[49]

Forming, Embossing, and Packaging

In the forming stage, the wet pulp slurry is deposited onto a forming wire to create a continuous web, which undergoes wet pressing between felts and rolls to remove excess water and consolidate the fibers, achieving approximately 40-45% solids content prior to drying.^[50] The pressed web is then transferred to a Yankee dryer, a large steam-heated cylinder typically 18-25 feet in diameter, where it adheres to the hot surface for evaporation drying to about 95% dryness, followed by mechanical creping with a doctor blade to impart bulk, stretch, and a textured surface essential for absorbency and strength in paper towels.^[51] ^[52] Embossing occurs post-drying, where the creped sheet passes between engraved steel rolls that imprint raised patterns, such as quilted or dotted designs, increasing bulk by over 150% and enhancing liquid absorption capacity by more than 60% through expanded surface area and air pockets that facilitate wicking and retention.^[14] For multi-ply products, separate webs are embossed, aligned, and bonded using adhesives like latex or starch to prevent delamination and improve overall integrity and cleaning efficacy.^[53] ^[54] The embossed sheet then advances to converting, involving perforation with fine-tooth knives to create tear lines spaced for standard sheet sizes (typically 11 inches), followed by slitting and cutting to width, and winding onto cores to form consumer rolls.^[55] ^[56] Packaging follows, enclosing rolls in plastic film or paperboard for protection and handling, often under automated systems to ensure sterility and prevent contamination.^[55] Quality controls throughout these stages monitor parameters like caliper (thickness in mils, often 4-10 mils for premium towels) using standardized methods to verify uniformity, detect defects such as wrinkles or pinholes, and ensure consistent absorbency and tensile strength, with variations exceeding 5% typically rejected to maintain product performance.^[57] ^[58]

Primary Uses and Applications

Household and Kitchen Settings

In household and kitchen environments, paper towels serve essential functions for managing messes generated during daily activities, including absorbing spilled liquids from counters and floors, drying washed produce or dishes, and wiping down surfaces to remove residues from food preparation. These applications leverage the material's high absorbency and disposability, allowing users to discard used sheets without the need for laundering. Consumer practices commonly involve tearing off individual sheets or sections for targeted tasks, such as patting dry meats before cooking to promote even searing or sopping up excess moisture from thawed items.^[59]^[60] Specialized variants, such as quilted or multi-ply paper towels, provide improved durability for handling greasy substances, enabling effective blotting of oil from fried foods like bacon without the sheet shredding or leaving fibers behind. This adaptation enhances utility in cooking scenarios involving high-fat content, where single-ply options may disintegrate upon contact with hot grease. U.S. households typically consume substantial quantities, with estimates indicating an average of approximately 80 rolls per year, or about 1.5 rolls weekly, reflecting frequent reliance on the product for these routine tasks.^[15]^[61] Paper towels also integrate with household appliances when microwave-safe types are employed to cover dishes, facilitating steaming of vegetables or reheating leftovers by trapping steam and preventing splatters, provided usage adheres to short intervals to avoid ignition risks. Such methods preserve food texture and moisture without additional utensils, streamlining kitchen workflows. These domestic applications underscore paper towels' role as a versatile, single-use tool tailored to the immediacy of home-based food handling and cleanup.^[62]^[63]

Commercial and Public Facilities

In commercial and public facilities such as offices, hotels, restaurants, and healthcare settings, paper towels are primarily deployed via wall-mounted or automatic dispensers in restrooms and kitchens to facilitate hand drying and surface wiping, enabling scalable hygiene management in high-traffic areas where frequent turnover demands disposable options.^[64]^[65] These systems dispense single sheets or controlled portions, minimizing cross-contamination risks compared to shared cloth alternatives and obviating the need for on-site laundering, which reduces operational burdens like water usage and labor in establishments such as hotels and office buildings.^[66]^[67] Bulk formats predominate for efficiency, including multifold (also known as M-fold or Z-fold) towels, which interlock for sequential dispensing to curb over-extraction, and center-pull rolls that self-feed from the core to support rapid access in busy environments like public restrooms.^[68]^[69] Empirical observations indicate average usage of 2 to 2.5 sheets per hand-drying event in commercial settings, with some studies noting up to four sheets depending on towel absorbency and user habits, influencing restocking frequencies and waste volumes that can comprise 20-40% of facility refuse by volume.^[70]^[71]^[72]^[73] In food service operations, paper towels are integral for complying with sanitation protocols, such as those outlined in FDA guidelines recommending their use for cleaning kitchen surfaces to prevent microbial transfer, particularly as single-service items that avoid the recontamination risks associated with reusable cloths requiring daily laundering or sanitization.^[74]^[75] This adoption ensures adherence to food safety standards by providing disposable barriers during spill cleanup and utensil drying, with dispensers positioned for accessible, hygienic retrieval in compliance-driven environments.^[76]^[77]

Hygiene and Practical Benefits

Superior Bacterial Control and Sanitation Efficacy

Paper towels demonstrate superior efficacy in removing transient bacteria from hands after washing compared to alternative drying methods, as evidenced by multiple peer-reviewed studies measuring colony-forming units (CFUs). In controlled experiments, drying with paper towels significantly reduced mean CFUs on palms (t=4.44, p<0.01) and fingertips (t=2.67, p<0.05), whereas warm air dryers increased CFUs on both areas and jet air dryers showed no significant reduction.^[78] A comprehensive review of hand-drying methods concluded that paper towels effectively remove all types of bacteria from hands while minimizing residual moisture to levels that inhibit microbial growth, outperforming hot air dryers which can increase bacterial counts through incomplete drying.^[79] The single-use disposability of paper towels inherently disrupts bacterial transmission chains by preventing reuse and re-exposure, a causal advantage over reusable cloth towels that can harbor pathogens such as Staphylococcus and fecal coliforms if laundered infrequently. Studies indicate reusable cloths accumulate environmental contaminants and skin bacteria, with towel surfaces yielding 10²–10⁵ CFUs/g even after washing, potentially leading to cross-contamination in multi-user settings.^[80] In healthcare contexts, clean paper towels proved more effective at reducing hand bacteria than sterile cloth alternatives, underscoring the hygienic primacy of disposability without needing additional sterilization.^[81] Relative to electric hand dryers, paper towels exhibit lower microbial dispersal, with high-speed jet dryers generating over 190-fold more bacterial aerosols up to 3 meters away compared to negligible dispersal from paper towels. High-speed dryers not only leave higher residual contamination on hands but also deposit 10 times more microbes on nearby surfaces and clothing, amplifying infection risk in enclosed spaces.^[80]^[82] This reduced aerosolization and surface transfer positions paper towels as preferable for infection control, particularly during respiratory pandemics like COVID-19, where evidence showed they removed viruses more effectively than air dryers, aligning with heightened demand for single-use hygiene products to break fomite and airborne transmission pathways.^[83]^[84]

Convenience, Durability, and Time Savings

Paper towels enhance household efficiency through their single-use design, which permits instant disposal after tasks such as spill cleanup or surface wiping, thereby bypassing the storage, sorting, and laundering requirements of reusable cloth towels. This disposability streamlines workflows in fast-paced environments, as users avoid accumulating soiled linens and the subsequent batch processing in washing machines, which demands preparation, cycle execution, and drying—processes that aggregate substantial cumulative time across daily routines.^[85]^[86] Durability metrics underscore their reliability for demanding applications; commercial paper towels exhibit wet-to-dry tensile strength ratios of 15.1 to 28.6 and burst ratios of 19.4 to 41.9, enabling them to withstand loads in saturated states without premature failure.^[24] Such properties support versatile uses, including straining liquids or supporting weights equivalent to several times their dry mass when wet, as validated in standardized tensile testing protocols. Empirical data from consumer surveys reveal high adoption driven by these attributes, with 73% of participants preferring paper towels for their rapidity in drying and cleanup over alternatives like air dryers.^[86] Similarly, 74% of surveyed individuals in institutional settings favored them for efficiency, reflecting broader household trends where quick-task utility aligns with modern lifestyles amid high per capita U.S. consumption of 13 billion pounds annually.^[87]^[8]

Environmental and Economic Drawbacks

Lifecycle Resource Consumption and Waste

The lifecycle of paper towels entails resource inputs primarily in raw material sourcing and energy-intensive processing stages. Wood pulp, derived from trees harvested in managed working forests and plantations, constitutes the main raw material; these sources support renewability, as U.S. industry practices do not contribute to global deforestation when adhering to sustainable forestry standards.^[88]^[89] Energy demands peak during pulping and drying, with kraft pulping requiring about 406 kWh of electricity per metric ton of pulp, alongside thermal energy inputs of 3–6 GJ per ton for drying in tissue production.^[90]^[91] Lifecycle assessments indicate a greenhouse gas footprint of approximately 0.06 pounds of CO2 equivalent per towel sheet, encompassing cradle-to-grave stages including pulp production and papermaking.^[92] At end-of-life, the majority of paper towels enter landfills rather than recycling streams, as less than 1% are recovered due to contamination from use.^[93] Anaerobic decomposition in landfills generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas, contributing to climate impacts; this is exacerbated by the high volume of disposal, with pulp production and landfill emissions together driving much of the sector's GHG profile.^[94]^[95] Mitigations include incorporation of recycled fiber, with some brands utilizing 40–50% post-consumer content or higher, which lowers virgin wood demand and associated upstream emissions.^[96] Certified sustainable sourcing further minimizes ecological strain, countering narratives of widespread deforestation by emphasizing plantation-based renewability over primary forest reliance.^[89] Overall, while resource use and waste pose verifiable costs, industry data highlight offsets from biomass energy in mills and sequestration in pulpwood growth.^[95]

Production Costs and Affordability Factors

The primary input costs in paper towel production are dominated by pulp, which constitutes approximately 62.5% of total operational expenses, with hardwood and softwood pulps forming the bulk of raw material outlays at around $688 per metric ton of tissue output.^[97] Other significant factors include energy ($100 per metric ton), chemicals ($60), and fixed overheads, yielding a total operational manufacturing cost of about $1,000 per metric ton, or roughly $1 per kg.^[97] Including administrative, distribution, and profit margins, ex-mill costs rise to approximately $1,100 per metric ton.^[97] Economies of scale in high-volume facilities—leveraging automated pulping, embossing, and rolling processes—drive down per-unit expenses, keeping global production costs in the $0.50–$1.10 per kg range for efficient operations.^[97] This structure enables competitive retail pricing, with standard household rolls typically available for $1–$2, reflecting bulk procurement efficiencies and minimal packaging overheads that avoid the higher upfront investments required for reusable alternatives.^[98] In low-income or infrastructure-limited settings, paper towels offer superior affordability over cloth alternatives, as the latter impose indirect costs via manual laundering, water scarcity, and energy for drying—factors that render reusables less viable without reliable washing access.^[99] Market-driven pricing thus ensures broad accessibility, prioritizing immediate utility over amortized long-term savings that presuppose robust sanitation infrastructure.^[100]

Empirical Comparisons to Alternatives

Versus Reusable Cloth Towels: Hygiene and Lifecycle Data

Studies on hand-drying methods indicate that paper towels reduce bacterial transfer and environmental contamination more effectively than reusable cloth alternatives due to their single-use nature, which eliminates cross-contamination risks from improper or incomplete laundering. ^[79] Reusable cloth towels, by contrast, frequently retain viable pathogens post-wash; a 2014 analysis of hospital cleaning towels found 93% harbored microorganisms after industrial laundering, with microbial loads including potential nosocomial bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus. ^[101] Consumer kitchen cloths similarly show high contamination rates, with up to 90% carrying coliforms and 14% E. coli, persisting due to moisture retention and suboptimal drying practices. ^[102] These findings underscore paper towels' causal advantage in sanitation, as cloth reuse amplifies microbial persistence unless laundered at high temperatures (e.g., 60–70°C) with detergents, which still yields incomplete decontamination in many real-world scenarios. ^[103] Lifecycle assessments quantify environmental trade-offs, balancing paper's upfront production emissions against cloth's repeated washing burdens. A single paper towel sheet generates approximately 27 g CO₂e across its lifecycle, driven by pulp processing and transport. ^[104] For reusable cotton roller towels, a 2022 peer-reviewed study calculated 12.4 g CO₂e per hand-drying in a baseline reuse system (including manufacturing, use, and laundering over multiple cycles), but this rises with energy-intensive drying or partial loads, potentially exceeding paper's impact. ^[105] Cloth washing typically consumes 5–10 times more water and energy per cycle than paper production equivalents when amortized inefficiently, though air-drying and full-load efficiency can lower per-use emissions to as little as 1.14 g CO₂e after 50+ cycles. ^[106] Break-even analyses favor paper towels in low-frequency or suboptimal-washing contexts, where cloth's hygiene deficits compound environmental costs via increased illness risk and re-laundering needs. Cloth outperforms only under high-use, optimized conditions (e.g., 100+ cycles per towel, collective laundering), but empirical data highlight systemic inefficiencies in household or small-scale settings, tilting overall lifecycle burdens toward disposables when sanitation is prioritized. ^[106] ^[105]

Versus Electric Hand Dryers: Efficiency and Microbial Spread

Paper towels demonstrate superior hygiene outcomes compared to electric hand dryers by mechanically removing residual moisture and bacteria from hands without generating airborne dispersal. A 2012 systematic review of 12 studies published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings concluded that paper towels effectively dry hands, remove transient bacteria, and result in less contamination of the washroom environment than electric air dryers, which can redistribute microbes via turbulent airflow.^[79] Similarly, a 2018 study in Applied and Environmental Microbiology found that hot-air hand dryers deposited significantly more bacteria and bacterial spores onto nearby surfaces—up to 27 times more than ambient air—due to aerosolization from high-velocity air streams pulling contaminants from hands and floors.^[107] High-speed jet dryers exacerbate microbial spread; a 2021 experiment by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America showed they disperse bacteria from inadequately washed hands onto users' clothing and surrounding areas at rates far exceeding paper towels, with air currents carrying viable pathogens over distances of 1-2 meters.^[82] Paper towels, by contrast, capture and sequester contaminants in disposable material, reducing cross-contamination risk; one analysis reported up to 77% bacterial removal from hands using paper towels versus minimal reduction or increased dispersal with dryers.^[108] In healthcare settings, where hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) pose elevated risks, facilities often mandate paper towels over dryers; a 2022 review recommended their exclusive use in hospitals and clinics to minimize pathogen transmission, citing consistent evidence of dryers' role in aerosolizing fecal and skin bacteria.^[109] Regarding efficiency, paper towels achieve thorough hand drying in 10-15 seconds, outperforming traditional warm-air dryers (20-40 seconds) and matching or exceeding jet dryers (10-12 seconds) while avoiding hygiene trade-offs.^[110] Per-use energy consumption favors paper towels in regions with carbon-intensive electricity grids, as dryer operation can emit higher greenhouse gases equivalent to producing multiple towels, though lifecycle assessments vary by local energy sources.^[111] Empirical preferences in high-stakes environments like hospitals underscore paper towels' combined speed and sanitation advantages, with protocols favoring them to curb HAIs over dryers' potential for microbial proliferation.^[112]

Market and Economic Impact

Global Production and Major Manufacturers

The global paper towel market reached a value of approximately USD 14.20 billion in 2024, driven by production from key mills utilizing wood pulp and recycled fibers.^[113] Leading manufacturers operate extensive facilities, with output concentrated in regions rich in pulp resources such as North America and Europe. Kimberly-Clark Corporation, producer of Scott and Viva brands, holds a significant share alongside Procter & Gamble, Georgia-Pacific, Essity, and Sofidel, collectively accounting for a substantial portion of global supply through integrated pulp-to-product operations.^[114] ^[115] Georgia-Pacific, a dominant U.S.-based player, enhanced its capacity with a $550 million investment in a Green Bay, Wisconsin, mill opened in 2024, adding thousands of tons annually via a new through-air-dried (TAD) tissue machine to support Brawny paper towels.^[116] Similarly, Kimberly-Clark maintains production across multiple sites, focusing on high-absorbency variants from sustainable fiber sources.^[117] The United States leads North American production, with private firms expanding tissue capacity by nearly 6% from 2023 to 2024, leveraging domestic pulp mills for efficiency.^[118] This sector contributes to the broader U.S. forest products industry, which employs over 925,000 workers and generates nearly $80 billion in annual payroll, including roles in pulp harvesting, mill operations, and converting.^[119] Exports from U.S. facilities bolster global trade, though specific paper towel volumes remain integrated within tissue category data.^[120]

Demand Trends, Growth Projections, and Supply Disruptions

The global paper towel market was valued at approximately USD 14.20 billion in 2024, reflecting sustained demand for hygienic, disposable cleaning solutions in residential and commercial settings.^[121] Post-COVID-19 hygiene awareness has bolstered consumption, with increased use in households and away-from-home environments like offices and hospitality venues, where rebounding tourism and office reopenings have driven uptake.^[122] Urbanization trends, particularly in emerging regions such as Asia-Pacific and Latin America, have further shifted preferences toward bulk and commercial formats for efficient sanitation in densely populated areas.^[123] Despite advocacy for reusable alternatives, empirical market data indicates no net decline, as convenience and microbial control outweigh eco-incentives in consumer behavior.^[115] Projections forecast the market expanding to around USD 23 billion by 2034, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2% from 2025 onward, propelled by rising disposable incomes, e-commerce distribution, and persistent emphasis on rapid surface disinfection.^[121] This growth trajectory aligns with broader tissue and hygiene sector patterns, where hygiene prioritization post-pandemic sustains volume even amid fluctuating raw material costs.^[124] Supply disruptions have occasionally strained availability, such as widespread hoarding in early 2020 amid COVID-19 lockdowns, which temporarily depleted retail stocks due to panic purchasing rather than production shortfalls.^[125] In October 2024, a brief East and Gulf Coast port strike triggered similar panic buying of paper towels and related products, emptying shelves at retailers like Costco and Walmart despite minimal direct impact on domestic manufacturing.^[126] Recovery proved resilient, with U.S.-based production—accounting for the majority of supply—ramping up quickly; industry estimates indicate four to six days of recovery per strike day, averting prolonged shortages through inventory buffers and localized sourcing.^[127] These events underscore supply chain robustness, as overreliance on imports is limited and adaptive capacity mitigates fragility.^[128]

Recent Developments and Debates

Sustainability Innovations and Material Advances

In recent years, manufacturers have introduced paper towels incorporating alternative fibers such as bamboo and post-consumer recycled content to diminish dependence on virgin wood pulp. Bamboo, which regenerates rapidly without replanting—maturing in 3–5 years compared to decades for trees—serves as a renewable feedstock that requires less land and water than traditional timber harvesting, enabling production with reduced environmental strain on forests.^[129] Blends combining bamboo with recycled paper can achieve up to 100% non-virgin content in some products, effectively eliminating the need for new pulp sourcing in those formulations, though softness and strength vary by processing.^[96] Similarly, 100% recycled paper towels, derived from waste like cardboard and office paper, bypass virgin pulp entirely, with advanced refining techniques maintaining absorbency comparable to tree-based counterparts.^[130] Packaging innovations have paralleled material shifts, with trials eliminating secondary plastic wrappers. In November 2024, Kimberly-Clark conducted a successful pilot with Woolworths in Australia, removing plastic bundling from Viva paper towel packs and palletizing directly, which conserved an estimated 12.6 tonnes of plastic annually per similar-scale operation while preserving product integrity during transport.^[131] Such changes align with broader commitments, like Kimberly-Clark's goal for 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable packaging by 2025, verified through lifecycle assessments showing reduced plastic waste without compromising hygiene.^[132] Process advancements include rapid-dissolving technologies enhancing septic compatibility and reducing plumbing risks from accidental flushing. Papernet's Dissolve Tech, applied to multifold paper towels, causes the material to disintegrate in under three minutes in water—mimicking toilet tissue behavior—through specialized fiber bonding that maintains dry strength but weakens rapidly upon saturation, as confirmed by disintegration tests.^[133] This innovation minimizes clogs in high-traffic settings like restrooms, where towels might be mistakenly discarded, without altering core absorbency for intended use.^[134] Sustainable forestry certifications, such as those from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), underpin renewability claims in the industry. U.S. pulp production, including for paper towels, sources from managed forests where growth exceeds harvest rates, resulting in no net deforestation; timberland area has increased by 4 million acres since 2012, per federal inventory data, countering narratives of systemic tree loss.^[88] FSC standards enforce traceability and biodiversity protections, with certified pulp comprising a growing share of supply—over 30% in some European markets—ensuring third-party audits verify chain-of-custody without evidence of induced global deforestation from tissue demand.^[135] These measures, combined with pulping efficiencies like optimized chemical recovery in kraft processes, further lower resource intensity, though empirical gains in water use per ton of output remain incremental at 10–20% in modern mills versus legacy operations.^[136]

Policy Challenges, Shortages, and Hygiene Versus Eco Mandates

In 2025, the University of Toronto launched a Paper Towel Elimination Pilot, removing dispensers from 220 washrooms on its St. George campus equipped with energy-efficient hand dryers to curb waste generation associated with single-use paper products.^[137] This initiative reflects broader policy efforts in public institutions to prioritize environmental goals, such as reducing landfill contributions from paper towels, which can comprise 20-40% of office or dormitory waste volume.^[73] Critics, including student commentary, have labeled such measures as performative, arguing they undervalue practical hygiene outcomes in favor of symbolic sustainability signaling.^[138] Empirical studies consistently demonstrate that paper towels outperform electric hand dryers in mitigating microbial contamination post-handwashing. A 2012 systematic review of hand-drying methods found paper towels dry hands efficiently, remove bacteria more effectively via mechanical friction, and result in lower environmental dispersal of pathogens compared to dryers, which can aerosolize microbes from residual moisture or unclean air intake.^[79] Similarly, a 2021 scoping review of peer-reviewed literature affirmed paper towels' superiority in reducing bacterial transfer, with rubbing action absorbing and sequestering contaminants that dryers may redistribute.^[110] These findings underscore tensions in eco-mandates, where waste-reduction aims—such as Toronto's pilot—clash with evidence-based hygiene priorities, potentially elevating public health risks like norovirus or bacterial outbreaks in high-traffic facilities.^[139] Supply shortages have periodically exposed vulnerabilities in paper towel distribution, exacerbated by policy-induced trade frictions. The October 2024 U.S. East and Gulf Coast port strike, involving 45,000 dockworkers, triggered panic buying of paper towels and related products, delaying imports of pulp and raw materials despite 90%+ domestic production mitigating widespread scarcity.^[128] In 2025, proposed U.S. tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber imports—escalating to 25% atop existing duties for a potential 52% total—threaten pulp supplies critical for tissue manufacturing, evoking pandemic-era disruptions and prompting industry warnings of price hikes and localized shortages.^[140] Such events highlight supply chain fragilities tied to reliance on cross-border timber, yet U.S. producers have demonstrated resilience through diversified sourcing and inventory buffers, adapting without systemic collapse.^[141] Proponents of paper towel retention emphasize individual sanitation autonomy and net health benefits, citing lifecycle analyses where reduced infection transmission offsets environmental footprints.^[142] Opposing views, often advanced by sustainability advocates, stress deforestation and methane emissions from paper disposal, advocating mandates for alternatives despite hygiene trade-offs.^[143] Data-driven assessments, however, indicate that hygiene gains—such as 77% less bacterial contamination in towel-dried scenarios—predominate, suggesting policies should integrate microbial risk metrics over singular waste metrics to avoid unintended sanitary regressions.^[144]

References

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Process For Making Paper Towels - Sciencing
Mar 24, 2022 · Paper towels are made from wood pulp, cleaned, bleached, bonded, and embossed with air pockets. Two layers are bonded together, and can be ...
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Everything You Didn't Know About Paper Towels - LD Davis
Aug 27, 2019 · Let's rewind to 1907. Back then, Scott Paper Company was one of the leading toilet paper manufacturers in the United States. The business had ...
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The History of Paper Towels - Burketts Office Products
Dec 5, 2014 · The head of Scott Paper Company, Arthur Scott once had a whole railroad car filled with paper. It was deemed useless because the rolls were very ...
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https://discountshoptowels.com/blogs/news/how-are-paper-towels-made
[6]
The Process of Paper Towel Manufacturing
Paper towel manufacturing involves sourcing wood pulp, creating a paper web, embossing, cutting, folding, and then quality control.<|separator|>
[7]
Paper Towel Market Size, Share | CAGR of 5.6%
The global paper towel market is expected to be worth around USD 10.0 billion by 2033, up from USD 5.8 billion in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 5.6% during the ...Report Overview · Based on Product Type Analysis · Based on End-User Analysis
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Paper Towel Market to Reach USD 10.0 Billion by 2033
Oct 31, 2024 · The global paper towel market is projected to reach approximately USD 10.0 billion by 2033, rising from USD 5.8 billion in 2023.Introduction · Paper Towel Statistics · Top Use Cases · Top Opportunities
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What Your Traditional Paper Towels Are Really Made Of
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Polymeric Wet-Strength Agents in the Paper Industry - NIH
Polymeric wet-strength agents are important additives used in the paper industry to improve the mechanical properties of paper products.4.2. Melamine Formaldehyde... · 4.3. Polyacrylamide And... · 4.6. Polycarboxylic Acids<|separator|>
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The many benefits of wet strength resins - Paper Industry World
Jul 18, 2017 · Wet strength resins are used in the manufacturing of moisture resistant grades such as liquid packaging, napkin and paper towel.
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Kymene™ Wet Strength Additives - Solenis
Kymene wet-strength additives, based on polyamide-epichlorohydrin (PAE) resin chemistry, help papermakers improve the wet strength of grades intended primarily ...
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Impact of embossing on liquid absorption of toilet tissue papers
Apr 7, 2020 · It was concluded that the embossing operation noticeably increased the thickness and bulk of toilet tissue paper.
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Single-Ply vs. Two-Ply Towels: What's the Difference? | Venus Group
Single-ply, or one-ply, means that the thread used to weave the towel contains a single strand of yarn. The result is typically a thinner, less durable towel.Missing: multi | Show results with:multi
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Water absorption of commercial and laboratory tissue sheets
Sep 13, 2024 · Conventionally produced kitchen towels typically absorb 7 to 9 g water per 1 g fiber. As confirmed in this study, tissue manufactured using TAD ...Missing: grams | Show results with:grams<|separator|>
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[PDF] Paper Towel Absorptive Properties and Measurement using a ...
The results are listed in g/in2 and g/g. Rate. For this study, we calculated absorbency rate in a number of ways in an attempt to better understand the behavior ...Missing: grams | Show results with:grams
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[PDF] Strong Feelings For Softness: A Comparative Study Of US Towel ...
May 18, 2017 · The mean MD wet tensile strength across all paper towels was found to be 0.53 ± 0.22 lbf∙in-1. We found that again the classification with the ...Missing: conditions | Show results with:conditions
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D828 Standard Test Method for Tensile Properties of Paper and ...
May 27, 2022 · 1.4 Properties able to be determined using this test method include tensile strength, stretch, tensile energy absorption, tensile stiffness, ...Missing: absorbency | Show results with:absorbency
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[PDF] Wet Tensile Breaking Strength of Paper and Paper Products1
Test Method B is suited for papers that are highly absorbent, easily damaged when wet, or both, such as tissue paper, particularly absorbent towels.
[22]
[PDF] standards for paper towels
Generally, at one extreme, are associated m paper towels rapid absorption, softness, and weakness, and at the 1 other extreme, slow absorption, hardness, and ...<|separator|>
[23]
Crepe & Extensible Technology - Ahlstrom
The amount of creping impacts the smoothness, porosity, and the hand or drape of the paper. Creping also has a significant affect on softness and absorbency ...
[24]
Determination of in-use properties of paper towels - BioResources
Aug 21, 2024 · Generally, a high wet tensile strength retention is preferred for a paper towel because it provides a good wet strength while providing ...
[25]
The History and Evolution of Scott Tissue – Printing Technology Guide
The Scott brothers began selling toilet paper in 1890, at a time when personal hygiene topics were considered private and even taboo. Despite cultural ...<|separator|>
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History of Scott Paper Company - FundingUniverse
Key Dates: 1879: Scott Paper Company is founded. 1907: Scott begins producing paper towels. 1915: Company goes public. 1957: Procter & Gamble promotes Puffs ...
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School Medical Inspection as a Public Health Strategy During the ...
By the early 20th century, expanding knowledge of bacteriology and the mechanisms of pathogenic disease transmission had convinced many scientific experts that ...Missing: contamination towels
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[PDF] When Were Paper Towels Invented - Leevers Foods
Arthur Scott's vision was driven by the growing public health movement and the recognition that single-use paper products could dramatically improve sanitation.
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Scott Paper Company | Encyclopedia.com
In 1907 Scott introduced the paper towel. The invention was supposedly inspired by a Philadelphia school teacher who thought it unsanitary for her pupils to ...
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[PDF] one teacher's fight against germs Disposable paper towels story
The product became an important part of Scott's business, helped by many state legislatures that outlawed the use of cloth-roll towels because of spreading.
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FOOD HISTORY: The Accidental Invention Of Paper Towels
Sep 24, 2017 · Scott Paper Company was founded by brothers E. Irvin and Clarence Scott in Philadelphia, in 1879. They debuted Scott Brand Tissue, toilet ...<|separator|>
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Scot Towels, circa 1937 - The Henry Ford
Free delivery over $75 Free 30-day returnsPaper towels, like paper cups, were first promoted for public use as a health measure, adopted for public washrooms during the early 20th century.
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What is Paper Pulp? | AF&PA
Jul 30, 2024 · Paper pulp is made from either wood from sustainably managed forests or recycled paper. Pulp is the first step in the papermaking process ...
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Raw Materials, Environmental Impact, And Sustainable Practices
Aug 6, 2024 · Softwoods, such as pine and spruce, are typically preferred for their long fibers, which provide strength and durability to the paper.Sustainable Forestry And... · Recycling And Waste... · Biodegradability And...
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Different Trees Make Different Products - U Maine Pulp and Paper ...
Jan 11, 2023 · Softwoods also have increased absorbency making it an excellent choice for products like paper towels, napkins, diapers, and other such hygiene ...Missing: sourcing | Show results with:sourcing
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How is Paper Made from Wood? | AF&PA
May 8, 2025 · The paper industry's complex supply chain begins by sourcing forest materials to make fresh wood pulp.Missing: towel | Show results with:towel
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100% Recycled Paper Towels, Unbleached - Seventh Generation
80% post-consumer recycled paper; Paper Towels with no added dyes, inks or fragrances; Paper Towels that help reduce the need for virgin wood pulp. How to ...
[40]
Mechanical Pulping - PrintWiki
The purpose of pulping is to reduce wood (or other fibrous raw material) to individual cellulose fibers. A non-fibrous constituent of wood, lignin, binds ...
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How To Make Paper Pulp: A Guide To Pulping Paper
Dec 17, 2024 · Chemical Pulping: In chemical pulping, wood chips are mixed with chemicals to break down the lignin, leaving behind pure cellulose fibers. This ...What Is Paper Pulp? · How To Make Paper Pulp · 6. Drying The Pulp
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How much paper can you get from a tree? - LinkedIn
Feb 27, 2017 · An average kraft pulping yield can will be around 57%. It means that in our tree with 126 kg will give at the end of cooking 71,8 kilos of pulp.<|separator|>
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Pulp and Paper Manufacturing Process - Shouguang Sunrise Industry
Feb 24, 2025 · The pulper creates a slurry by mixing raw fibers or recycled paper with water. Blades or rotors stir the mixture, breaking materials into ...
[44]
[PDF] Facts About the Use of Bleaching Agents in Tissue and Paper Towel ...
Totally Chlorine Free (TCF): This technique indicates no chlorine or chlorine compounds were used as bleaching agents in the wood pulp bleaching process. It ...
[45]
Chlorine Free Processing - Conservatree
There are methods of bleaching paper pulp that totally eliminate the possibility of dioxins, replacing chlorine with oxygen, ozone and hydrogen peroxide ...
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While US papermaking requires large amounts of water, very little ...
US papermaking uses large amounts of water, but very little is consumed. Water is recycled 10+ times, with 90% returned to source, and water use per ton has ...
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Does the paper industry need to cut its water usage? - BBC
Oct 22, 2023 · After the cellulose is pulped, the water is extracted and then used in the subsequent bleaching process. Overall, the water is recycled 100 ...
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Yield of pulp, dimensional properties of fibers, and ... - BioResources
One ton of paper is produced from around 2.5 tons of wood. Because of the limited wood resources that have been increasingly used not only for papermaking but ...
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[PDF] FOREST AND PAPER INDUSTRY - Benoit Cushman-Roisin
1 ton of 100% virgin (non-recycled) newsprint uses 12 trees. The average is 17 trees per metric ton of paper. A "pallet" of copier paper (20-lb. sheet weight) ...
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Steel Yankee dryer: Advantages, development and rapid acceptance
Sep 11, 2017 · After pressing, on a conventional wet press machine, the tissue sheet is approximately 40-45% solids and the remaining water must be removed by ...
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What is Yankee Dryer? Uses, How It Works & Top Companies (2025)
Oct 1, 2025 · Preparation of the Paper Sheet: Wet paper pulp is formed into a sheet and pressed to remove excess water before reaching the Yankee Dryer.
[52]
Learn About Paper Drying | GasPaperDryer.org
The Yankee Dryer uses a very large steam cylinder (18 – 25 ft diameter) surrounded by an air cap (hood). The hood supplies hot, high velocity air that impinges ...
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Why Paper Towels Need To Be Embossed - Roller - News
Apr 1, 2025 · The embossed paper towel also has a larger surface contact area, which is better able to absorb dust and grease. 2) Make the paper firmer. Paper ...
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The Impact of Paper Towel Thickness on Absorbency and Durability
Jul 11, 2024 · Multi-ply sheets are thicker and cover more space per page than thinner ones.Their design allows them to soak up more water without getting wet ...
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How do you manufacture paper towels - Xinyun Machinery
Aug 3, 2023 · Paper towel manufacturing involves sourcing wood pulp, pulp preparation, paper formation, drying/pressing, finishing, and packaging/ ...
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This is fascinating. Watch 'How It's Made' on Science Channel and ...
Apr 11, 2019 · A paper towel always comes in handy to soak up a spill, clean a surface or simply dry wet hands. This brand is made from 100% recycled fibers.
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Thickness (caliper) of towel, tissue, napkin and facial products, Test ...
$$22 delivery 30-day returnsThis method describes the procedure for measuring bulking thickness and variations in tissue paper and tissue products.Missing: control manufacturing mils
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The Impact of Paper Towel Thickness on Absorbency and Durability
May 28, 2023 · Thicker towels generally offer superior performance in terms of liquid absorption and strength, making them more efficient for cleaning tasks.Missing: mils | Show results with:mils
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9 Clever Paper Towels Uses That Aren't Just Cleaning - Taste of Home
Jul 29, 2024 · There are many paper towel uses that don't involve cleaning—these versatile sheets can help keep food fresh, make coffee and more.
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What You Can and Can't Put in a Microwave - Whirlpool
Most paper towels are microwave-safe. In fact, you can use a paper towel to cover some foods so they don't spit during cooking or reheating. If you do use a ...
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Microwaving Food With Paper Towels Is Only Safe In 2-Minute ...
Jan 27, 2024 · Paper towels can help prevent splatters in your microwave. But it's safest to only use them in two-minute intervals.<|control11|><|separator|>
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Making the Case for Paper Hand Towels in Public Restrooms
Sep 28, 2023 · Paper towels are the more hygienic way to dry hands and are therefore recommended in hygiene-critical environments.
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Benefits of paper hand towel dispensers in public restrooms - Initial
Jun 5, 2025 · Paper towel dispensers offer a hygienic, touch‑free solution. They reduce germs, prevent cross‑contamination, and ensure a clean, ...
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Paper Towel Considerations in Commercial Restrooms - Facilitiesnet
If you choose to have paper towels in your restrooms, you have to think about how users are going to get to it. If the dispenser is on a wall behind them, they ...<|separator|>
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Choose the right types of paper towels for commercial dispenser
Feb 28, 2025 · Multifold Paper Towels. Multifold towels are interlocked, making them more efficient in controlled dispensing. C-fold towels are easier to ...
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Roll Towel vs Folded Towel | WAXIE Sanitary Supply
Each folded towel is around 9.5” in length – which means that a typical hand dry will take 23.75” of paper towels (9.5 inches multiplied by 2.5 average use for ...Missing: rates | Show results with:rates
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[PDF] Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Hand Drying Systems
use the same number of paper towel sheets per instance of hand drying, requiring 2 sheets of paper towels for each instance of hand drying. It was also noticed ...
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[PDF] Advisory Bulletin - Bobrick
Standard Multifold Paper Towels: 1) Average number of paper towels used per hand dry is 2.5 towels. 2) A typical case of 2,400 Multifold paper towels cost an ...Missing: sheets | Show results with:sheets
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The Use and Abuse of Paper Towels - The New York Times
Dec 29, 2008 · Paper towels often account for 20 to 40 percent of waste (by volume) from an office building or a dorm. The university is trying to cut down their use.
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Safe Food Handling - FDA
Mar 5, 2024 · Consider using paper towels to clean up kitchen surfaces. If you use cloth towels, launder them often in the hot cycle.
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21 CFR Part 117 Subpart B -- Current Good Manufacturing Practice
(3) Single-service articles (such as utensils intended for one-time use, paper cups, and paper towels) must be stored, handled, and disposed of in a manner that ...
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Is It Time to Change How We Clean and Sanitize Food Contact ...
Aug 13, 2018 · All wet reusable towels/cloths should be laundered or discarded daily. The wiping cloths may be laundered in a mechanical washer, a sink ...
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Comparison of the efficacy of three hand drying methods in the ...
This study compared the efficacy of using paper towels (PT), warm air dryers (WAD) and jet air dryers (JAD) after hand washing in terms of microbiological ...
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The Hygienic Efficacy of Different Hand-Drying Methods - NIH
Most studies suggest that paper towels can dry hands efficiently, remove bacteria effectively, and cause less contamination of the washroom environment.
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Microbiological evaluation of different hand drying methods for ...
Sep 24, 2019 · However, most studies suggest that paper towels can dry hands efficiently, remove bacteria effectively, and cause less contamination of the ...
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Major Article Is sterility essential for hand-drying products in surgical ...
Jul 9, 2025 · This study assesses the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of clean paper towels, sterile cloth towels, and sterile paper towels for surgical hand antisepsis.Major Article · Introduction · References (27)Missing: studies | Show results with:studies
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High-Speed Air Hand Dryers Spread Contamination More than ...
Mar 17, 2021 · High-speed air dryers not only leave more contamination on poorly washed hands compared to paper towels but during hand drying, they can also spread germs onto ...Missing: aerosolization | Show results with:aerosolization
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Paper towels 'much more effective' at removing viruses than hand ...
Apr 17, 2020 · Paper towels should be the preferred way to dry hands after washing to reduce the risk of coronavirus contamination and spread, according to UK researchers.Missing: single evidence
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Transmission of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases in public ...
Following hand washing, three studies suggested that the use of paper towels is potentially more effective than the use of warm air or jet air dryers in ...
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https://www.reelpaper.com/blogs/reel-talk/paper-towels-vs-cloth-towels
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Paper Towels Take the Win - Cascades PRO
According to our latest consumer snap poll, 73% of respondents responded that paper towels were their preferred method of drying their hands over the 19% who ...Missing: survey percentage
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[PDF] Exploring Hand Drying Alternatives to Paper Towels
74% of respondents preferred hand paper towels, we saw 60 people (approximately 53% of. 8 Of those who selected that they prefer paper towels. Page 16. 16.
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Are Toilet Paper and Paper Towels Sustainable? | AF&PA
Aug 9, 2024 · No. The U.S. pulp and paper industry, which includes paper towel producers, is not linked to global deforestation. U.S. forest managers have ...Key Takeaways · Wood · Recycled PaperMissing: plantations | Show results with:plantations
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Paper Industry Champions Sustainable Forestry | AF&PA
Aug 3, 2023 · The paper industry uses trees from healthy, managed working forests where harvesting of trees is permitted. We source our trees from 2 types of ...Missing: towel | Show results with:towel
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Decarbonizing the pulp and paper industry: A critical and systematic ...
This percentage makes more sense given that kraft pulping consumes around 4.4 GJ of steam and about 406 kWhe per ton of pulp [115]. While chemical pulp mills ...Missing: towels | Show results with:towels
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Advancing sustainability in the U.S. pulp and paper industry
Sep 1, 2025 · Drying alone consumes around 3.0–6.0 GJ per ton of paper produced (TAPPI, 2022).
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Our carbon footprint: How do paper products fit in?
Mar 21, 2018 · Paper towels generate about 0.06 lbs CO2 [ix] each and even if you use 10 each day, in a year your paper towels would general 219 lbs of CO2 or ...
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Detailed Life Cycle Assessment of Bounty Paper Towel Operations ...
Sep 10, 2016 · This study is a LCA that calculates the potential impacts associated with Bounty® paper towels from two facilities with different production ...
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Detailed life cycle assessment of Bounty® paper towel operations in ...
Sep 10, 2016 · The new metrics can guide supply chain and manufacturing enhancements, and product design related to environmental protection and resource ...Missing: physical properties<|control11|><|separator|>
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The Best and Worst Toilet Paper, Paper Towel, and Facial Tissue ...
... paper or other tissue products are made. So most of us probably don't realize that the average American household uses more than 100 pounds of tissue paper ...<|separator|>
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How Much Pulp Constitutes To The Pricing Of Tissue Amongst Other ...
Aug 29, 2023 · This is an average cost borne by most mills whilst pulp makes up USD 688 of the cost, it is only 62.54% of the cost. The remaining cost ...
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Paper Towels – Market Intelligence | ProcurementIQ
Prices in the Paper Towels market range from $0.40 to $X.XX, depending on Thickness, Brand and Quantity. For example, lower prices are associated with One-ply ...Definition · Global Procurement Trends · Average Cost · Total Cost of Ownership
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Paper Towels Vs Cloth Towels: Which is Better?
Jun 15, 2021 · Since cloth towels are reusable, they are more long-lasting, economical, and eco-friendly than paper towels.
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Paper Towels vs. Cloth Towels - Alsco Uniforms
Nov 18, 2021 · Paper towels work well for cleanups, regular cleaning and drying hands in restrooms, but cloth towels have just as many uses—and perhaps even a ...Missing: household | Show results with:household
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Microbial Contamination of Hospital Reusable Cleaning Towels and ...
Oct 13, 2014 · The microfiber towels harbored greater numbers of bacteria compared with the cotton towels. A survey of cleaning practices was conducted at each ...
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How Often Do You Wash Your Towels? Doctor Warns They're ...
Nov 4, 2024 · In fact, his research indicated that 90 percent of bathroom towels were contaminated with coliform bacteria, and that 14 percent carried E. coli ...
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The risk of bacteria surviving the laundry process has thereby increased. Since bacteria can survive on fabrics for a month or more (2), clothing, bed linen, ...
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Is Kitchen Roll Bad for the Environment? Stats, Trends and Facts
Jul 29, 2024 · In addition, a single roll of paper towel contains 0.06 pounds of CO2 emissions. This dramatically increases the methane produced at its ...
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Linear, reuse or recycling? An environmental comparison of different ...
Nov 10, 2022 · According to the results, a linear life cycle of a cotton roller towel causes a climate change impact of 12.4 g CO2e/hand-drying and water ...
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Dish Towels vs. Paper Towels: What's Better for the Environment?
Apr 29, 2025 · Using a towel ten times instead of only six times before washing it decreases the associated carbon dioxide emitted per use by about 40%.<|separator|>
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Deposition of Bacteria and Bacterial Spores by Bathroom Hot-Air ...
Apr 2, 2018 · Retrofitting hand dryers with HEPA filters reduced bacterial deposition by hand dryers ... paper towels for potential spread of airborne bacteria.
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Jet Air Dryers vs. Single-Use Paper Towels: Which is More Effective ...
Paper towels have been proven to effectively remove up to 77% of bacteria that might remain after handwashing.4. Research strongly supports using single-use ...
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Hand Dryers vs. Paper Towels: Which Is Better? | ImageFIRST
Nov 8, 2022 · The study goes on to recommend that paper towels should always be used in locations where hygiene is paramount, such as hospitals and clinics. 3 ...
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Comparison of electric hand dryers and paper towels for hand hygiene
One study recommended a combined approach using towels followed by warm air‐drying to minimize bacterial transfer rates and maximize drying efficacy (Patrick et ...
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Paper towels least green way of drying hands, study finds
Nov 11, 2011 · Paper towels and warm air hand dryers have the highest environmental toll – generating 70% more carbon emissions than the newest technology on the market.
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Paper Towels are the smart choice for drying hands
Mar 9, 2025 · In fact, many healthcare authorities are stipulating that only paper towels be used as the method of hand drying in hospitals. Single-Use Paper ...<|control11|><|separator|>
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Global Paper Towel Rolls Market Insights, Industry Share, Sales ...
Oct 15, 2025 · The major global manufacturers of Paper Towel Rolls include Kimberly-Clark, Essity (from SCA), Procter & Gamble, Georgia-Pacific, Sofidel, ...
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Paper Towel Market Size, Share, Industry Trends, Forecast, 2032
The global paper towel market report covered key companies such as Kimberly-Clark Corporation, The Procter & Gamble Company, Kruger Inc. & Others.
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Georgia-Pacific Holds Grand Opening for $550 Million Green Bay ...
Sep 23, 2024 · The new TAD machine adds thousands of tons of tissue production capacity to the Broadway mill, which already operates seven other paper machines ...
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Kimberly-Clark Corporation | Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark and its trusted brands, including Huggies®, Kleenex®, Andrex®, Cottonelle®, Scott®, Kotex® and Depend® deliver essentials for a better life to ...Our Brands · Contact Us · About Us · Kimberly-ClarkMissing: towel | Show results with:towel
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Apr 17, 2025 · Private companies have a clear dominance in the capacity produced in the US with a nearly 6% increase from 2023 to 2024.
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Economic Impact | AF&PA - American Forest and Paper Association
The U.S. forest products industry employs more than 925,000 people, and accounts for a payroll of nearly $80 billion. The forest products industry is a major ...
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Expert industry market research on the Paper Towel Manufacturing in the US (2015-2030). Make better business decisions, faster with IBISWorld's industry ...
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Away-From-Home Tissue and Hygiene - Euromonitor International
With offices fully open and tourism rebounding post-pandemic, demand for toilet paper, paper towels, and hygiene products has increased in hotels ...
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Paper Towels Market : Challenges in Emerging Regions - LinkedIn
Aug 28, 2025 · The paper towels market is experiencing rapid growth in emerging economies, particularly in Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East, ...
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The pandemic has raised hygiene consciousness, resulting in increased demand for AFH tissue products in healthcare and hospitality. For example, as of 2023, ...
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Future Forecasts for Paper Towels Industry Growth
Apr 12, 2025 · 2020: Increased demand for paper towels due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2021: Several major players invest in sustainable manufacturing processes.
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What's Causing a Toilet Paper Shortage? Port Strike Drives Panic ...
Oct 3, 2024 · The port strike shouldn't be causing toilet paper shortages, but panicked shoppers are emptying shelves anyway.Missing: disruptions recovery
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Walmart releases statement on increased demand for paper towels ...
Oct 4, 2024 · Industry analysts have said that for every day of a port strike, it takes four to six days to recover. But they said this short strike of just a ...Missing: 2020 | Show results with:2020
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Is toilet paper affected by the port strike? Here's what to know before ...
Oct 3, 2024 · Experts say there's no need to worry about a shortage of toilet paper because the bulk of it is manufactured in the US.Missing: disruptions | Show results with:disruptions
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DrDirt Bamboo Multifold Paper Towels - Five-Fold ... - Amazon.com
30-day returnsGreen Choice: Our five-fold multifold paper towels are made from sustainably sourced bamboo, a fast-regenerating resource that matures in just 1-3 years. These ...<|separator|>
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Recycled Paper Towels: Spills Happen, Deforestation Doesn't Have ...
Jun 12, 2025 · With advanced manufacturing techniques, recycled paper towels are just as strong and absorbent as their virgin pulp counterparts – if not more ...<|separator|>
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Kimberly-Clark, Woolies' plastic waste trial success
Nov 28, 2024 · The trial involved removing secondary plastic 'bundling' from Viva paper towels, with products instead being packed directly onto pallets for ...
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Sustainability | Kimberly-Clark Professional
By 2025, 100% of our packaging will be reusable, recyclable, or compostable. Wind Turbines. Decreased Footprint. We're working to create the smallest footprint ...
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Dissolve Tech Rapid Dissolving Toilet & Hand Towels - Papernet
Ideal for high-footfall locations, if accidentally disposed of in the toilet, they dissolve in less than three minutes, just like traditional toilet paper.Missing: quicker septic safe
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Papernet Multifold Paper Towels Powered by Dissolve Tech
If disposed of in the toilet, the towel dissolves much like bath tissue after 3 minutes, reducing costly plumber visits. any universal dispenser. Works with any ...
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Aug 29, 2025 · Reduced deforestation and ecosystem pressure: The pulp and paper industry uses 33–40 per cent of all industrial wood traded globally. Switching ...
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As of August 2025, paper towel dispensers in 220 washrooms equipped with energy efficient hand dryers across the university's St. George campus are no ...
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Bathroom Hand Dryers: Are They Sanitary?
Nov 15, 2023 · As the above studies have noted, opting for paper towels will keep more germs off your freshly cleaned hands than air dryers. “Drying your hands ...
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Trump Tariffs on Canada Lumber Risk Pinching Toilet Paper Supply
Mar 27, 2025 · The White House's threatened 25% tariffs on many Canadian goods would mean import taxes totaling about 52%. And that's before the conclusion of ...
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Trump's tariffs on Canadian lumber threaten new toilet paper ...
Mar 28, 2025 · The proposed measures, which could raise import taxes to as high as 52%, threaten to disrupt the supply of northern bleached softwood kraft ( ...
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The Hygienic Efficacy of Different Hand-Drying Methods: A Review ...
Most studies suggest that paper towels can dry hands efficiently, remove bacteria effectively, and cause less contamination of the washroom environment.
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3 reasons to ditch paper towels right now - Intelligent Hand Dryers
Aug 3, 2023 · Paper towels are costly, messy, and cause environmental issues like methane release and deforestation. Hand dryers offer long-term savings and ...
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Paper Towels vs. Air Dryers - ABM Perspectives
Jun 10, 2025 · A 2012 review of 12 studies found that paper towels effectively reduced bacteria and caused less contamination of the washroom environment than air dryers.