We have been warned about pirated CDs and DVDs, but now — shock! horror! — watch out for illegal toilet paper.
It may sound ridiculous, but it’s true. You might be buying illegal toilet paper, even though you don’t know it. The South African Tissue Manufacturers’ Association (Satma) has announced that illegal toilet paper exists, and has been around for some time already.
Luckily you, the valued consumer, will not be prosecuted for buying the wrong toilet tissue; instead, both the retailer and manufacturer, if caught, will face prosecution.
Toilet tissue is governed by trade metrology legislation. The 1973 Trade Metrology Act protects consumers from being ripped off by unscrupulous manufacturers.
So what should your legal paper look like? Well, in four weeks’ time, Satma is launching a new logo so that you will not be fooled by illegal products.
Legal toilet paper must have 500 perforated sheets per roll; each sheet must measure 100mm by 110mm; and the core diameter of each role should be 40mm.
The poor are the worst affected, says Satma, as they get less value for the amount they have paid
Illegal toilet paper is mostly sold by street hawkers and found in spaza shops. Rustenburg and Nel-spruit are the country’s top spots for sales of this form of contraband.
The toilet-paper industry has doubled over the past 15 years and is worth R1,5-billion. Almost everybody uses the stuff, you see.
Mohammed Saadik Jada, director of Gardenia Tissue Mills, one of the major players in the industry, estimates that 80% of manufacturers are non-compliant, and their 20% share of the overall market is worth about R300-million.
The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), under the department of trade and industry, is responsible for monitoring the industry but, according to Satma, it has not had much success in prosecutions. Stuart Carstens, from the legal metrology division in SABS, says that in the past, fines of up to R15Â 000 had been paid.
Satma comprises 16 paid-up members who are major players in the industry. “We have spoken to all major retailers and they are all very supportive. It is in their interest to support us,” says Satma deputy chairperson Darry Weisz, who is also MD of Nampak.
Weisz says that the manufacturers producing legal toilet paper have had to decrease their prices because of this informal or “grey” market. Illegal toilet paper costs almost the same as legal toilet paper.
On your next trip to the supermarket to buy toilet paper, carry a tape measure so you can ensure you’re on the right side of the law.