A brief history of colourful toilet paper
Over the decades, toilet paper has had more outfit changes than Fran Fine in an episode of The Nanny. It’s been produced in every colour under the sun, including sun-coloured. And for some (myself), colourful toilet paper seems as bizarre as green ketchup (I’ll forgive but I’ll never forget).
So why was it – and still is in some parts of the world – a thing? I took to the world wide web to find out where coloured toilet paper came from, and how just as swiftly as it took over our hearts and bathrooms, it evaporated into thin air. Or got flushed.
The fifties
The rise of colourful bathrooms saw the rise of colourful toilet paper (as well as the rise of toilet water). Pastel tiles and tubs were popular, particularly pink, green, yellow and blue. People’s tubs, sinks, toilets and towels matched. Toilet paper was the only element left to coordinate. Thus people began to view toilet paper not only as a very handy way to wipe, but an interior design accessory. And while some design trends of the fifties have made their way back into the mainstream (how many mid century desks and sofas have you seen on Facebook Marketplace?), colourful toilet paper was left behind.
The sixties and seventies
The colourful loo roll trend continued, as did colourful bathrooms. Bolder colours started popping up, as well as colourful patterns. Picking out your toilet paper was a serious decision, like choosing what towels to hang on display or which hand soap to align your identity with.
The eighties
Colourful toilet paper began disappearing from shelves and toilet-roll holders around this time, with a few speculated reasons why. The first is that doctors began warning people that the dyes used in the loo roll could be harmful to our skin. The second is that the use of dyes could be harmful to the environment. The third? It was no longer aesthetically pleasing, according to the design police. More neutral palettes took preference, especially in the bathroom.
Now
White loo roll reigns supreme, although brands are still getting creative. There’s scented, quilted, 3 ply, even glow in the dark. Personally, we like to keep our loo rolls pretty simple. But that doesn’t mean packaging needs to be boring. Loo roll, in my honest opinion, is as much about form as it is about function. The interior design of your porcelain parlour can still be elevated with the right loo roll. Like this one!
This just in: apparently, pink toilet paper is still a thing in France! Do you live in France? Let us know below if this is fact or fiction. And how you make those baguettes so damn fluffy.
