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.

  • anonymous111@lemmy.world
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    19 minutes ago

    Didn’t we learn from the pandemic that most toilet paper is produced with country borders due to high shipping costs?

  • Feathercrown@lemmy.world
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    4 hours ago

    Don’t they already have a stockpile from last time?

    These people need to be banned from doing this lmao

  • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    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.

    • MegaUltraChicken@lemmy.world
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      8 hours ago

      Hell yes. Installed bidets last time this nonsense happened and I will never go back.

      Anyone not enjoying the luxury of a bidet doesn’t know what they’re missing.

      • zcd@lemmy.ca
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        8 hours ago

        Anyone not enjoying the luxury of a bidet is pooping like a Neanderthal

        • ravhall@discuss.online
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          7 hours ago

          The moment I finished using a bidet for the first time, I had this revelation… my entire life, up until this point, I’ve been walking around with a filthy disgusting paper-wiped ass.

            • ravhall@discuss.online
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              3 hours ago

              You could use a single sheet or two sheets of paper or you could use just use a hand towel that you have specifically for the purpose of patting dry your wet bum. Obviously the hand towel would be a personal thing, so if this is a shared bathroom maybe suggest one or two squares of paper to do a little dab dab on the tush tush

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      9 hours ago

      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.

      • Godort@lemm.ee
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        9 hours ago

        Take solace in the fact that all the people that bought thousands of rolls with the intent to scalp them basically lost all that money after inventory caught up a month later.

  • chronicledmonocle@lemmy.world
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    9 hours ago

    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.

    • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
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      8 hours ago

      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.

      • drcobaltjedi@programming.dev
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        7 hours ago

        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?

    • EmpathicVagrant@lemmy.world
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      6 hours ago

      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

      • cheers_queers@lemm.ee
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        6 hours ago

        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

      • Branch_Ranch@lemmy.world
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        6 hours ago

        It requires MAYBE an adjustable wrench or pliers. Your landlord will never know. Easily returned to original configuration in minutes. Do it!

    • gibmiser@lemmy.world
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      9 hours ago

      There are people who benefit financially from these panics. The companies selling the goods, and the news who have a good news story. And politicians.

  • lolola
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    8 hours ago

    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.

    • CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social
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      9 hours ago

      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

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        9 hours ago

        I would say it’s a looming disaster in terms of the average price of goods for consumers when they are already living paycheck to paycheck in many cases.

        I am on the side of the port workers, don’t get me wrong, but the fallout from this strike will hurt people.

        • SoupBrick@yiffit.net
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          7 hours ago

          As long as the right people are held accountable for that damage. The mainstream media does not have a good track record of reporting on the side of striking workers.

  • soupguy@lemmy.world
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    8 hours ago

    I never understood this behaviour. I will starve before I run out of things to wipe my ass with.