As the world changes economically and more and more sanitation options become readily available to everyone, there’s been an increase in the use of paper-based products when cleaning yourself while using the bathroom.
An article in Quartz speaks on this topic and the effect it is having specifically in India.
“Indians may slowly be undergoing a whole new round of “toilet training”: Toilet wipes, diapers and sanitary napkins are flying off the shelves in Asia’s third largest economy.”
Several things are causing this shift, but chief amongst them appear to be:
- Growth in disposable income.
- Education and awareness of these products (particularly with sanitation protection for women and girls).
- Simple convenience.
- Companies seeing a business opportunity and making their products more affordable.
“The tissue and hygiene segment in India is estimated to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 76% till 2020, according to Euromonitor, a market research firm. The market will, thus, grow from the current Rs5,780 crore ($870 million) to over Rs10,000 crore ($1.5 billion) by 2020.”
That is incredible growth and interesting to observe, particularly in cultures like India that have dealt with sanitation in a certain way for centuries. In many cases they are quite stuck in their ways.
As we work towards solutions to address the global sanitation problem at large, it’s heartening to see that there is always the potential for old ideologies to shift.