A more informal lifestyle has led consumers to care less about which paper product is being used for what, and paper towels have become a stand-in for nearly every other type of household paper product, except for toilet paper, according to the 2008 Household Paper Products report from Mintel, Chicago.
The trend is reflected in recent sales.
For the 52-week period ending Jan. 25, paper napkins earned $373.5 million in the grocery channel, compared with paper towels' $1.8 billion, according to Information Resources Inc., Chicago.
Facial tissues came in at $676.6 million, and toilet paper earned $3 billion.