Basic black new hue in the loo

We have now seen the lengths to which people will go to be indisputably chic: black toilet paper. An innovation that is already on a roll in Europe will be available in the U. S. in January and perhaps Canada after that, says Jose Manuel Pinheiro, international brand manager at Renova, a Portuguese paper producer. The company introduced black toilet paper a few months ago in cutting-edge boutique hotels in Madrid; it has just appeared on shelves at Monoprix in France.

“ We are getting a lot of global feedback,” says Pinheiro. The U. S. price works out to about $ 1.25 a roll if you buy a six- pack. Pinheiro estimates the cost per roll will be about $ 1.50 in Canada for a multi- pack.

“ Some people say it’s brilliant but others don’t like it and say they would never pay extra for black toilet paper,” he adds. “ But the fact that we’re getting so much feedback, good and bad, tells us there is strong interest in

this product.”

According to Kenn

Fischburg, president of ToiletPaper-

World. com, the pastel pinks and blues,

popular in bath tissue in the 1950s, disappeared in North

America by the

1980s, but coloured

toilet paper continues to be popular in Europe.

If black paper does come to Canada, it will have limited availability in high-end decor shops, with products showing up in chic bars and restaurant restrooms, says Pinheiro.

Canadians can get their basic black toilet paper fix online at www. wellbeingworld. com. So far, Renova seems to have the North American market for black toilet paper to itself. Big toilet paper manufacturers Kimberly Clark and Procter & Gamble say they don’t make black toilet paper and have no plans to do so.

“ It’s not for everyone,” Pinheiro notes. “ But I think some Canadians will really like black toilet paper because it’s such an unusual specialty item.”