In a comprehensive evaluation of bathroom essentials, consumer watchdog Choice has conducted an extensive trial of 42 different toilet paper varieties to determine the best option for home use in Australia. The testing focused on key performance metrics, including softness, ease of sheet separation, durability, and disintegration time, with each factor contributing to an overall score out of 100.
Top Performers and Price Points
Quilton's 4 Ply Softness Gold emerged as the top-rated toilet paper, achieving the highest overall score of 78%. This premium product was closely followed by Quilton's Shea Butter in Gold 4 Ply variety, which scored 77%. However, this superior performance comes at a significant cost, as both options are the most expensive in the test, priced at $0.69 per 100 sheets.
In contrast, the next best-rated roll offers a more budget-friendly alternative. Woolworths exclusive brand Vevelle's Luxury Soft Double Length variety scored 77% but costs only $0.29 per 100 sheets, making it less than half the price of the top Quilton products.
Eco-Friendly Options and Softness Challenges
Chris Barnes, a project manager at Choice, highlighted that eco-friendly toilet papers generally face challenges in the softness category. "There's a bit of a challenge when using recycled paper to refine it to a very soft level," he explained. Despite this, some recycled options performed well. For instance, Naturale 100% Recycled 3 Ply Softness scored 80% for softness and had an overall score of 75%, priced at $0.28 per 100 sheets.
Yarn'n 100% Recycled Aussie Manufactured Deadly Dunny Paper, which donates 50% of profits to Indigenous education organisation Yalari, received a softness score of 70% and an overall score of 74%, costing $0.43 per 100 sheets. On the lower end, Who Gives A Crap's products ranked the lowest among eco-friendly options, with its Bamboo Extra Soft Double Length Rolls scoring just 55% for softness and an overall score of 68%.
Durability and Disintegration Concerns
While softness is a primary consideration for consumers, sewer friendliness is equally important. Barnes noted the difficulty in finding toilet paper that is both strong during use and quick to disintegrate. "It has to be both soft and strong," he emphasized.
Some high-scoring products were let down by poor durability, but the lowest scores were attributed to toilet papers that were too tough. Kleenex Complete Clean and its double-length version had the worst disintegration scores, at just 5%, taking five-and-a-half minutes to break apart in water vortex tests. Their overall score was 53%. A spokesperson from Kimberly-Clark IFP ANZ, the manufacturer of Kleenex, defended the products, stating they undergo rigorous safety and quality testing.
Ply Count and Performance Misconceptions
Barnes cautioned that a higher ply number does not always guarantee better performance, though brands often use it as a selling point. For example, Vevelle White Toilet Tissue 2 Ply scored 77% and costs $0.19 per 100 sheets, while Sorbent's 4 Ply Thick & Soft received a score of 75% at $0.59 per 100 sheets, demonstrating that ply count alone is not a reliable indicator of quality.
The Choice test underscores the importance of balancing cost, comfort, and environmental impact when selecting toilet paper, with results showing that premium options like Quilton lead in performance but come at a higher price, while budget and eco-friendly alternatives offer competitive scores at lower costs.
