Originally Published On Thestar.com By Lisa Boone On March 17, 2020
As cases of the coronavirus continue to climb, nothing feels more surreal than the irrational stockpiling of toilet paper, even though experts tell us it isn’t necessary and manufacturers say there is no shortage.
Whether it stems from a herd mentality, reading social media posts about toilet paper fights, or an overwhelming sense of helplessness, one thing is certain: the panic buying of toilet paper has prompted bidet sales to soar.
While Americans have long been resistant to bidets — a common feature in European toilets where jets of water clean you off instead of toilet paper — the spread of the coronavirus seems to be changing longtime views on self-washing.
But it’s not for lack of interest. Several years ago at Dwell on Design, I watched as a long line of attendees waited to take a peek at the latest Toto “washlet,” a toilet-bidet hybrid with warm water spray, heated toilet seat and a mind-numbing (for the uninitiated) control panel. In 2016, Kylie and Kris Jenner professed their love for their Toto Neorest 750H, a bidet that now retails for more than $13,000, on their “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” reality show and Instagram feeds.
Today, bidets are being manufactured for more than just high-end consumers as interest in sustainable products and water conservation has grown. (According to Tushy, Americans use more than 34 million rolls of toilet paper every day, which translates to about 54 million trees).
Inexpensive entry-level styles of the Toto washlet bidet seat can be found at big box stores like Home Depot, Wayfair and Lowes for as low as $250 U.S. And new affordable alternatives, like the Tushy bidet, allow you to clip on a bidet attachment without plumbing (it draws water from the toilet’s supply line) and electricity for the cost of toilet paper on eBay right now —$79 for a classic bidet and $109 for the warm water spa version.
As toilet paper has become scarce, Tushy’s sales have soared. (Both bidets, as well as Tushy’s line of bamboo toilet paper, were available online on “Black Friday,” but were sold out by Saturday. Pre-ordering is now available with shipping expected in late April).
“Tushy’s sales over the past few weeks have grown from double to triple to more like 10-times what they were in weeks before word spread about TP shortages,” said Jason Ojalvo, CEO of Tushy. “This could be the tipping point that finally gets Americans to adopt the bidet. The reality is, once you use a bidet to clean after pooping you cannot go back to wiping and toilet paper. You’ve learned too much! Wiping seems not just inefficient, but also barbaric, by comparison.”
Miki Agrawal is the Co-Founder and former CEO of THINX.
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