Published - 20th October 2021
Back in April 2020, our independent, family-run, North-West based business was in the spotlight on national television and in the papers responding to the bizarre toilet roll stockpiling crisis which came about as a result of the onset of the pandemic (read all about it here). Nova Tissue’s managing director Khurram wanted to reassure the public that there was no shortage of the household essential and no need to clear the supermarket shelves of it to try and ease the panic that had set in.
Fast forward 18 months and, while we’ve gotten over the toilet roll hysteria unscathed, we’re still living with the pandemic and fallout from other things such as Brexit, which has presented a new concern about not being able to get hold of the things we need on a daily basis from petrol to kitchen roll. The HGV driver shortage is causing yet more hysteria and we are once again keen to reassure people that stockpiling isn’t the answer.
However, we also want to clear up any misunderstanding around the difference between stockpiling and bulk buying and help those who want to budget more effectively, run their households more efficiently, and make sustainable choices, do so responsibly.
So, what is ‘bulk buying’ and why is it different to unnecessary stockpiling?
Well, bulk buying tends to be a carefully considered purchase of much-needed items that can be bought more cheaply in larger quantities. Whereas, stockpiling tends to be driven by ‘panic’ and usually involves much larger quantities of things that aren’t necessarily urgently needed and aren’t being purchased in bulk because of cost or efficiency, but rather through fear that the items will not be available in the future. Carefully considered bulk buying of certain items can save time and money and even be better for the planet without causing unnecessary harm to others, while stockpiling can have a knock-on negative impact without being of great benefit to the customer.
There are certain household essentials that are by nature ‘bulky’ (including toilet roll and kitchen roll) but that we need every day and never want to run out of. When bought at the last minute as a result of getting ‘caught short’, these items can be costly, difficult to transport (nobody wants to cycle home with a 9-pack of loo roll strapped to their back!), and, despite there being a huge array of options on the market, can be difficult to make responsible, cost effective choices about when in a rush.
This is where well thought through bulk buying can come in. Taking the time to research businesses that share the same ethical values as you, or supporting a UK manufacturer so your products don’t have a big carbon footprint, are all things you wouldn’t have time to do in the supermarket. We’ve all made impulse purchases and then later regretted either the price tag or the quality of the item.
We’re proud of our company values, and openly share information about our products and the choices we’ve made in sourcing their raw materials so our customers know exactly what they’re buying. As a UK independent business based in the North West of England, one of our priorities is to cater for a range of budgets so that low income households can still make ethical purchases without being priced out. As noted in this Telegraph article, ‘green goods’ can cost 50% more than regular goods which we think defeats the object of making an item sustainable in the first place if only a handful of customers can afford them.
Our prices start at just 27p per toilet roll and 32p per kitchen roll when bulk buying through our website, check out our products here and get them delivered to your doorstep for free!