Port strikes spark toilet paper ‘panic buying’ as shoppers say shelves left empty
Port strikes spark toilet paper ‘panic buying’ as shoppers say shelves left empty
Americans have already started noticing a decline in toilet paper rolls in their local stores as customer apparently bulk buy - despite the majority of paper being produced domestically
Americans have already started noticing a decline in toilet paper rolls in their local stores as customer apparently bulk buy - despite the majority of paper being produced domestically
Toilet paper ‘panic buying’ has been reported in parts of the country, as Americans fear the impact of the ongoing port strike.
Roughly 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association walked out on Tuesday morning after their contract with the ports expired. News that the strike could impact 36 ports appears to have led some consumers to buy rolls upon rolls of toilet paper in a panic, with shoppers posting pictures of their local stores with empty shelves.
Social media users in New Jersey, Colorado, Virginia and other states reported shelves cleaned out of toilet paper.
I'd rather see people panic buying toilet paper than ammunition
Yeah, but I can tell you from COVID that when you're getting close to running out of it, all the people panic buying toilet paper that didn't need to make you a little bit cross.
Morons don't even understand that toilet paper is domestically produced, not imported, so a dockworker's strike would have fuck-all impact on the supply of it anyway.
I just buy toilet paper from Costco once every one to two months and I'm fine.....these people are insane, stupid, or both. Seriously WTF does toilet paper have to do with survival? Just get a bidet if it gives you this much anxiety FFS.
Yeah it hasn't even been 5 years since this shit happened during COVID and people can't remember how ridiculous it was back then. How much toilet paper is even being shipped here from overseas and not manufactured using the billions of trees we have here in North America? Shit like this, or people panic buying gasoline and filling up trash bags with it, gives me a little bit of insight as to why the ruling class treats us like cattle.
God that was so fucking stupid. I hated it so much since I usually buy one of those 48 rolls packages to last me awhile. Well, I happened to be down to a few rolls when the panic happened, so I looked like one of those assholes.
God I hate people. Why is that the thing everyone panic buys?
That was 5 yrs ago? Feels like 2. Unfortunately lot of these idiots lack the capability to learn from mistakes.
I buy the bulk packs of super thick type and hardly need any so it lasts me like 3 rolls a year.
I’d love a bidet anyway but i refuse to do anything the landlord might get huffy about
the cheap ones are so easy to connect and disconnect that i don't think you could possibly fuck up enough for them to notice you did anything
It requires MAYBE an adjustable wrench or pliers. Your landlord will never know. Easily returned to original configuration in minutes. Do it!
You go through bulk Costco toilet paper in 2 months? Either a large family or the cleanest bung hole this side of the Mississippi.
Five person family. Two adults and three kids.
We have truly learned nothing
I learned something. The Koch brothers have some sort of secret campaign to make people afraid of not being able to wipe their ass during a disaster. I'm sorry, people, toilet paper is a luxury I will forego if the end is truly upon us.
I just can't relate to other people. It makes me think these guys get up in the morning, check their TP stash first thing, and breathe a sigh of relief knowing their ass is safe for what ever diarrhea related emergency life has in store that day.
Glad we bought a bidet after the last wrath of morons did this.
"wrath of morons" has a nice ring to it.
Is this the new America? Disaster is looming, so buy toilet paper?
It's not even a disaster, like, the port workers wouldn't strike so long as to actually threaten the country, they live in it. It's only a disaster if you're trying to avoid paying them more
It's only a disaster if you're trying to avoid paying them more
So, it's a disaster then.
Yes but not just disasters. Toilet paper got sold out before the last solar eclipse. Americans buy toilet paper because it’s one of the few things they can still do with agency. It makes them feel like they accomplished something
Didn't we learn from the pandemic that most toilet paper is produced with country borders due to high shipping costs?
Didn’t we learn from the pandemic
No.
I think most of the general pop stopped paying attention by the time that was clear. Hopefully more idiots will try to scalp TP and stores will refuse their returns when the scalpers realize any shortages caused by runs (heh) are temporary.
IIRC, the shortage in 2020 was only in stores and warehouse storage didn't even get fully tapped out before things stabilized.
I also remember going to the stores and being surprised there was still tons of pasta while people were scrambling for TP. I didn't use a bidet at that time (do now though), but even then my thought was "even if we run out of TP entirely, you can just start taking a shower after shitting, but there isn't an easy alternative if the food runs out". The pasta runs came later, but I was already stocked up.
This a problem for people who don’t have a bidet. Gross people.
You can use your hand
Yeah, it's easier if you lick your hand first. You'll get used to the taste after a while
I truly do not understand my fellow countryfolks' minds. Why toilet paper, again?
A quick search can tell you what goods might be affected, and paper products don't even make the list! https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/transportation/2024/10/01/strike-at-the-port-of-ny-and-nj-what-imports-are-affected/75468183007/
Imports into the Port of NY and NJ
- Furniture
- Appliances, machinery and parts
- Plastics
- Beverages, spirits and vinegar
- Electric machinery and parts
- Apparel and accessories, knit
- Rubber
- Vehicles and parts
- Iron and steel
- Toys, games, sports equipment
So as you'd expect: cars, furniture, electronics, fast fashion, some raw materials
In other words, very little that is essential or that you'll miss in the next few months, but a lot of luxury things that cheap importers make a lot of money on.
Honestly, we'd be better off as a country if we permanently stopped importing a lot of this shit and went back to making it outselves.
we'd be better off as a country if we permanently stopped importing a lot of this shit and went back to making it outselves.
Of course.
But there's more short-term profits to be made for a select few if we close even more factories where they have to pay (more-or-less) a living wage and outsource to low wage countries.
Labor power has apparently scared the shit out of us to such a degree that no amount of toilet paper will ever be enough to wipe it up.
Don't they already have a stockpile from last time?
These people need to be banned from doing this lmao
Why always the fucking toilet paper? Time to finally get the bidet.
As someone watching from outside (and a born and bred bidet user), this is hilarious.
My area appears to have been hit with a paper towel shortage first. Attempted to get some at Costco today because we legit needed it, but they had none. Went to Lidl and they were running low, but was able to procure some.
So we learned nothing. Neat.
I never understood this behaviour. I will starve before I run out of things to wipe my ass with.
If it starts to disappear again, check out a company called Who Gives a Crap? We never had a supply issue during the pandemic.
I learned my lesson from the early days of covid. Buy that good stuff i bulk as a habit, not as an emergency reaction.
With that much toilet paper, you’d be silly to stop wiping when it turns red!
Just keep wiping until you get all the way to the top.
Hahaha, this again. I'm starting to think big TP sows dissidence in society, trying to cause any form of logistics service to be disrupted, so long as it's not their trucks.
But also I love seeing how many people don't know how to clean themselves at home if they have no TP.
There was no TP nor any more Kirkland paper towels at the Costco i went to last night. Just 1.5 pallets of bounty rolls and a bunch of workers trying to fill the space with kirkland bottled tap water.
All they need is this guy: