Toilet roll shortages may be on the horizon again after new EU rules to ban products linked to deforestation come into force next month.
Memories are still fresh of empty shelves during the early days of Covid lockdown, as shoppers panic-bought toilet paper and caused retailers to ration sales. Now the boss of a toilet paper company has warned those days may return soon due a lack of preparation for the new laws.
Chris Forbes, boss of Cheeky Panda, which produces toilet paper made from bamboo, said the ban on products linked to deforestation from May, and will have a “gigantic effect” on the toilet paper sector, as many companies are still heavily reliant on virgin pulp as a raw material and so will struggle to make the changes needed in time for the new rules. "There will definitely be a squeeze on availability and we can expect the price of recycled tissue to rise as demand for alternatives increases,” Forbes told The Grocer.
