Community, Environment

All Sorts of Crap and the PKR

Forestwood

It was a Saturday morning, 2012 and my phone rang impatiently. When I picked it up, an unfamiliar voice asked,

“Is that Amanda?”

“That is me,” I answered.

“Yeh?” [pause]

” It’s Susie. I’ ve got your crap here.”

“Sorry,” I said, about to hang up, thinking that this was a prank call.

But then I was a little curious, so I tentatively asked, “What kind of crap have you got?”

[Believe it or not, this is the second time in my life, I have had to ask a stranger this exact question. This time I was not in Denmark, but that’s another story.]

The Caller continued.

“Well, I dunno. There’s a box here, with your name on it and it says that it’s umm, filled with crap.” It had your phone number too, so I rang you, ‘cos, you know, I don’t want it!” Susie exclaimed.

The penny dropped.

“Oh, okay. I know what it is. It’s my toilet paper,” I said with sudden clarity.

[Frustrated with too frequently needing to change the toilet roll and attempting to shop more ethically for environmentally friendly products, I’d purchased a regular delivery of toilet paper from a profit for purpose, online store, Who Gives a Crap and hadn’t received a notification that delivery was imminent.]

“They’ve delivered it to the wrong street address,” I squirmed inwardly, realizing how ridiculous it must have sounded to Susie, to have toilet paper home delivered, in the days before online shopping really became mainstream.

What? Susie asks, sounding confused.

“I bought some environmentally friendly toilet paper online – it is recycled, you see.”

“Recycled? Toilet paper? What?” She asked, seeminly incredulous at my wild suggestion. [Apparently, the hole I was digging, was getting deeper]

“It’s a little crazy but it is a genuine product, from a company called Who Gives A Crap, and they are, you know, all for sustainability and helping the environment, you see. Their sales speel is really corny Dad jokes and puns about toilet humour which they print on their wrappers.”

Susie was not convinced, but eventually agreed to a suitable time to pick up my box of “crap.”

On collection, she cheezily remarked, “You’re finally here to pick up the crap, are ya?” The toilet humour was wearing a little thin, by then. I wanted my loo paper and to get out of there. So, I thanked her for her honesty in calling me and offered her a roll to try out for herself.

“No, I don’t use it,” she said.

Now it was my turn to be confused. How could anyone in this day and age, get away without using toilet paper? I pondered.

I had to know more.

Let me say that Susie was only too willing to share the finer details of her medical condition which required her to use soft wipes instead.

Before we delved into the realms of TMI, I decided to take my environmentally friendly crap and trot off.

2020

Can you imagine if the same incident happened today?

There’d be some kind of snatch and grab feast in the burbs. Not only is Who Gives a Crap now a widely known brand, but a free box of 48 rolls of EXTRA LONG Toilet paper, would be akin to finding the golden ticket to Willy Wonka.

Who Gives A Crap?

Let’s face it anyone brave enough to call their company, Who Gives A Crap, is worth a look. Plus 50 % of profits get put back into Water Aid and projects that improve sanitation in the Third World. I love that. And according to its founder, it has a low PTR!

What is PTR? you may ask. It is a Poke-Through-Rate because no one wants crap on their hands: as Simon explains in this promotional video.

To test the poke through rate yourself, you’ll have to wait a little, as the current runs, (no pun intended), on toilet paper has Who gives a Crap stocks completely SOLD OUT, in Australia.

Roll on.

This story was promptly by Barb at Barb’s blog, discussing the Corona pandemic.

Published by Forestwood

A philosophic Aussie writes here at StPA, one who will readily admit to loving Scandinavia. I'm interested in global politics and what drives us to be who we are. Scratch the surface and you'll find a practical Environmentalist with an egalitarian bent, trying to unleash a little creativity via the written word. Scandinavian culture, literature and traditions are close to my heart, even though I'm Australian. Travel and courteous discussions greatly broaden the mind, so I travel if I can and am always up for a vigorous, respectful discussion. I'm an avid reader, a writer and I enjoy photography and crafts, particularly traditional art forms. I hope you'll find 'Something to Ponder About,' in my WordPress Community.

74 thoughts on “All Sorts of Crap and the PKR”

    1. It is all true, Anne. Truth is stranger than fiction, sometimes. I had buried this memory and completely forgotten about this episode until I read Barb’s post, mentioning Who gives a Crap brand, and when I mentioned I had a funny story relating to that, she wanted to hear it. The brand’s marketing is absolutely hilarious. I love this humour, and wouldn’t mind seeing advertisements like that. I mean, really, who comes up with something like the Poke through Rate as a highlight! Have a lovely weekend.

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      2. I don’t think I would have been able to make this up. I generally rely on events from real life and occasionally embellish them or change the characters a little to write the story. How about you, Anne?

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      3. I thought I could be a fiction writer, but I don’t have the imagination for it. I’m really a reporter of life events, writing about things that happen around me. That is easy and fun; fiction would be a nightmare.

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      5. Even historical fiction sounds like work. This is the play time of my life. I’m enjoying the blog world, filling my time with reading and commenting.

        So you spend lots of time writing?

        Liked by 1 person

      6. I am a bit addicted to blogging. I did like to write but have to be in the right mood to write well. Otherwise it isn’t great. I would love to write like Ally Bean!! Do you follow her blog? You will see her name in the comments her and there.

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  8. Haha! We use Who gives a Crap as well, and embarrassingly had just ordered some ahead of the stockpiling stories, so now it looks as though we have stockpiled too. We only get the type on the left of your image. We find the quality of the gaily wrapped ones is … er … crap. In England anyway. Nice story!

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    1. Thank you, Margaret. The Who gives a Crap brand appears to have expanded to be a global brand! That is wonderful for them. I haven’t bought any for a while, myself, since this incident actually. I was a little concerned when the next box might end up, so stalled the orders for a while. Thus, I was not aware that there was twodiffering qualities of tissue, but I guess they are giving people options.
      When watching the video inserted in the post, I thought whilst the bright and fun wrapper is fun, it is an extra layer of packaging, they don’t really need. But then, without it, they are just another toilet roll company, aren’t they and perhaps lose their edge?

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      1. With the quantity they send, I think the rolls would risk getting a bit manky without a paper cover. And you can use it for wrapping small gifts – a diamond ring, that sort of thing 😉 – as I discovered at Christmas.

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    1. Good on you, M-R! I was just informed by another blogger that there is a premium range. Not having purchased any supplies for a while, I wasn’t aware of the WGAC innovation. Oh dear, look at me, discussing toilet paper on my blog! Strange times, indeed.

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  10. You should share your post with whogivesacrap.com! It was enough to get me to go check them out 🙂 Unfortunately (or is it fortunately, given their video you posted 🙂 ), they’re all sold out!

    It reminded me of a commercial of sorts for Squatty Potty, a (real!) product that was pitched on Shark Tank with … quite the zing to it 🙂

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    1. Perhaps I should be looking at a commission for referrals to WGAC, E.W.? Lol!
      As for Squatty Potty, that is a catchy name, Love the rhyme to it. AT first, I couldn’t see it, as I have a problem with youtube links I paste from the comments. It takes me to strange websites, not the one intended. I finally found it going to youube and insert the words squatty potty.

      What a cool design for a toilet footstool. I love the way it folds away out of sight. Remembering the days of cumbersome steps when the kids were little. As one commenter said, this is one of the very few commercials that “..made me buy a product I didn’t already know I needed.”
      Whilst the name is fun, it is not at all what I thought it was going to be. And as an Assistant Occupational therapist, a great innovation for clients. Thanks for introducing the Squatty potty to me! Have you bought one?
      Have a wonderful weekend.

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      1. I’m glad you liked it! It’s a little… different type of commercial, wasn’t sure if you’d like it 🙂 I thought the concept, implementation, and presentation were ingenious (and very memorable… I still think of it any time someone says “rainbows and unicorns” ;)). I have not bought one since I don’t have any issues in that department, but if I did, I absolutely would. They sold them at Costco in pairs for a while.

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  11. I have a smile going on here as I read this. I don’t know if you popped over to Barb’s link on my last post. It was all about ‘Who gives a Crap” TP. Yes, they are out everywhere. I had never heard of it before but put myself on the mailing list here. If I were going to stay in my home a lot longer, I’d put in a bidet but they are not as popular as they should be here. I’d like one with warm water. 😉 It’s nice that Susie was honest and called you but sounds like she had little in the way of politeness or tact. At least you have your TP. We should be fine here for quite the while.

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    1. I am glad this made you smile, Marlene. You too can enjoy a delivery of crap every now and again too! I did mention Barb, along with a pingback, at the end of this post.
      She wanted to hear the story, Marlene. I haven’t ordered from them for a while, as we don’t need huge stock numbers anymore with just the two of us living here.

      On bidets, it sounds like you would like a Japanese toilet. They are multi-functional, you can adjust the spray height and width, temperature and spray styles! and they are automatic, meaning they activate when you sit down on them. They even have music. They are a bit expensive here though. A couple of grand is a bit much for a room where I don’t want to spend a lot of time in! Maybe if you had a loo with a view it could come in handy?

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      1. Yes, I would love a Japanese toilet. I’ve loved them from the first time I saw them. They would be a little over the top for someone who can only afford a manufactured house that still carries a mortgage. What we want and what we have are often not the same. I enjoy what I have though. Maybe I missed something in the reading. I do that often enough and worry I’ll miss something in my writing too. It’s getting a little thin in the old cerebral cavity these days. ;(

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      2. Totally fine to miss the pingback. It is likely that I should have inserted it higher up in the post. “What we want and what we have are often not the same.”
        Very true. Nor should we crave what is it likely to always be out of our reach. I am happy with my current toilet, but pipedreams are fun too.

        Liked by 1 person

  12. Reblogged this on Barb Taub and commented:
    Okay, there are days when I suspect my sense of humor never made it past age seven. And there are days when that’s a glorious thing! (Toilet paper and poke through rates—things you always hoped you’d never need to know…)

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Hey Barb, Thanks for the re-blog. Thanks actually for getting me to write the post and re-live some of my funniest memories.
      Indeed, things you always hoped you-d never need to know. And as a by-product, one of my readers have introduced me to clever advertising for another product I never knew I needed – the Squatty potty. Not at all what it sounds like. Lol. Have a wonderful weekend. Keep smiling.

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  13. It appears Suzie doesn’t have a sense of humor. I don’t know what her medical condition was, but it sure affected her funny bone. In fact, it sounded like a real pain in the bum!

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    1. Guffaw!
      Oh you could get a job writing copy for WGAC! Good one, Art.
      I think it was all a little overwhelming for Susie, and I could say something relating to wipes/wiping, but I shall refraim. My Dad however, would have toilet puns rolling off his tongue. Toilet humour was one of his fortes.

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    1. I know it is popular but is it mainstream yet? I suppose they have been in business eight years. This was back in 2012 when they first started so Susie hadn’t come across them. And she clearly didn’t buy toilet paper. Even her kids used “wipes.”

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    1. Yep, Jan. It is absolutely real! I love that this company can laugh at themselves. It is a very Australian thing to do. Aussies love to poke fun at themselves. Where are you situated?

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      2. Staying on the loo was a great marketing initiative to gain attention and crowd funds. And it worked. So glad there are ethically conscious companies about. In this current climate, crowd funding may struggle so timing has to be right, I guess. WGAC got lucky.

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      2. Then are many more in my country, who use WGAC, of course and a even few more of us, here, who regularly order it, going by the comments. Are you tempted to try it, too?

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    1. It makes me happy that I was able to bring a little humor into your world – thanks for the visit, Lynette. I am curious – Had you heard of that company before?

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    1. I haven’t tried their tissues, but did use the paper towel range for a while. It is like a breath of fresh air to have a lightened, cheery mood with a product, as dull to sell as toilet paper. I think Marketing could learn a new way of approaching customers from them. Do you know of other products that use this sort of branding, Mosy? (I don’t).

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    1. Rofl! The company have quirky sayings and fun ideas on how kids could use the box for play, afterwards. As in – it recycles to a spacesship, car or doll house. Brilliant, hey?

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  21. Pingback: All Sorts of Crap and the PKR – LOVE-Adore

    1. Wouldn’t it be different today, Pooja? I would never have received the phone call – my delivery would have ended up on Amazon for sale to the highest bidder, perhaps?

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  23. This story amused me! You are quite right, she’d have never called you today. I looked into WGAC a while ago, but was put of by the fact they still need plastic packaging on their products for shipping it overseas. Kind of defeats the object really for me. I have found that I can recycle the stuff my toilet rolls come in along with plastic bags. But TBH I have little faith in where all the recycling actually ends up. A Japanese toilet on the other hand might not be a bad investment 🤑

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    1. I concur with your concerns re the plastic. As they don’t wrap it in plastic here, I wonder why they must do it overseas. Surely they could come up with an acceptable alternative. After all, they can send rockets to Mars and outer space. But I guess it is all about costs now, and feasibility?

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