Americans have already started noticing a decline in toilet paper rolls in their local stores as customer apparently bulk buy - despite the majority of paper being produced domestically

Toilet paper ‘panic buying’ has been reported in parts of the country, as Americans fear the impact of the ongoing port strike.

Roughly 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association walked out on Tuesday morning after their contract with the ports expired. News that the strike could impact 36 ports appears to have led some consumers to buy rolls upon rolls of toilet paper in a panic, with shoppers posting pictures of their local stores with empty shelves.

Social media users in New Jersey, Colorado, Virginia and other states reported shelves cleaned out of toilet paper.

  • chronicledmonocle@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    I just buy toilet paper from Costco once every one to two months and I’m fine…these people are insane, stupid, or both. Seriously WTF does toilet paper have to do with survival? Just get a bidet if it gives you this much anxiety FFS.

    • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
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      1 month ago

      Yeah it hasn’t even been 5 years since this shit happened during COVID and people can’t remember how ridiculous it was back then. How much toilet paper is even being shipped here from overseas and not manufactured using the billions of trees we have here in North America? Shit like this, or people panic buying gasoline and filling up trash bags with it, gives me a little bit of insight as to why the ruling class treats us like cattle.

      • drcobaltjedi@programming.dev
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        1 month ago

        God that was so fucking stupid. I hated it so much since I usually buy one of those 48 rolls packages to last me awhile. Well, I happened to be down to a few rolls when the panic happened, so I looked like one of those assholes.

        God I hate people. Why is that the thing everyone panic buys?

      • RogueBanana@lemmy.zip
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        1 month ago

        That was 5 yrs ago? Feels like 2. Unfortunately lot of these idiots lack the capability to learn from mistakes.

    • gibmiser@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      There are people who benefit financially from these panics. The companies selling the goods, and the news who have a good news story. And politicians.

    • EmpathicVagrant@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      I buy the bulk packs of super thick type and hardly need any so it lasts me like 3 rolls a year.

      I’d love a bidet anyway but i refuse to do anything the landlord might get huffy about

      • cheers_queers@lemm.ee
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        1 month ago

        the cheap ones are so easy to connect and disconnect that i don’t think you could possibly fuck up enough for them to notice you did anything

      • Branch_Ranch@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        It requires MAYBE an adjustable wrench or pliers. Your landlord will never know. Easily returned to original configuration in minutes. Do it!