Next time you shop for paper towels, you might start to think that there’s gold in those rolls.
TikTok creator McKenzie Raley (@mckenzieraley) recently posted a video about sticker shock while shopping for paper towels at the grocery store. The video has more than 52,000 views and more than 4,600 likes.
@mckenzieraley #greenscreen ♬ original sound – McKenzie
“I had to buy paper towels recently, and something tells me that nobody has checked in on the prices of paper products, because we should be gathering. We should be rioting in the streets over this,” Raley said in the video.
She explained to the camera that she’s been shopping in “delulu land” at Costco, buying Kirkland-brand paper towels in bulk and paying no more than $25 for the pack. But Raley found herself away from home and needing paper towels, so she went to Publix and looked at a two-pack of Bounty.
“I look at the price tag. Suddenly, I’m worried we’ll have to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Nine dollars for a two-pack of Bounty paper towels,” she said.
Raley continued, “I’m already the kind of person who will save a paper towel for later because it still has some integrity to it, you know. This makes me think I should put it through a wash-and-rinse cycle.”
McKenzie also took issue with the different varieties of two-packs of Bounty, some of which tout on the packaging that they contain the same amount of paper towels as four, five or six regular rolls. McKenzie said she goes through these rolls at the same rate.
“You can’t tell me I’m actually getting six rolls,” she said.
She ended up ditching the brand-name cachet and spent $3 on the Publix brand.
“I’ve never been so grateful to have a Costco membership,” she said.
The comments on the video also felt the paper pain.
“I just stop looking at the prices otherwise I get too upset,” one person commented. Raley replied, “Need a sedative to grocery shop.”
Another commenter wrote, “my dad works for proctor and gamble and gives me cases of bounty, dawn, tide, and Charmin.. praying he never quits.”
“I haven’t bought paper towels in 11 months. I simply cannot afford,” one comment read.
The video brought up feelings about other high grocery prices. “And chips!!!” a commenter wrote. Raley replied, “And milk and eggs and yogurt and butter and bread and fruit and veggies and toothpaste and deodorant and …”
Inflation at the grocery store has made headlines recently, mostly around food items like eggs. According to U.S. News & World Report, while inflation has cooled since a spike last year, many grocery price tags haven’t come back down.
When it comes to paper towels, high prices can probably be traced to the global paper supply chain. A February article from the Los Angeles Times reported that a downturn in housing has led to sawmills closing and a shortage of wood pulp—the material used to make household paper products like paper towels and bath tissue.
The Daily Dot reached out to McKenzie, Publix, Costco and Bounty’s parent company, Proctor & Gamble, via email.
