Kris Ronningen is a retired Microsoft executive who divides her time between Seattle and France. TW asked her about the differences between the US and Europe and her own approach to tissue purchase and consumption.
“The big difference between France and the US is the amount of choice in what you can buy and also, for me, the way you buy it. France has a lot less choice and also it never seems to be on sale or promotion. In the US there is the concept that if you buy more you save more so I always stock up when there is a sale or special promotion on of a product I like. Usually it is Bounty.
In France, I have found a toilet paper in Schlecker (the local shop) that is adequate and I buy that. It’s called Lotus and it is soft enough and thick enough without being cardboardish like some of the paper here. Even in France I buy the bigger rolls and bigger packs when I can.
I always buy white, never colours or any designs, as I’ve been told it is bad for the environment. I would also be worried the dye would come off. A study in the States showed that colours are not ecological although they are coming back a bit. In France people seem to like colours a lot more. I see pink, apricot in friends’ bathrooms and there is a lot of it in the shops. I would only buy white – although I suppose it’s bleached – and what does that mean?
I do buy coloured paper napkins although I have great aspirations only to use cloth ones. Even there, though, I am not sure it is a great saving for the environment with all the washing and detergents…
I’m not a great Kleenex tissue user. I use toilet paper to blow my nose. In the States I put a nice decorative box of tissues in the guest bathroom about eight years ago; I think I have replaced it twice. When I worked at Microsoft, one day I was in my boss’s office and needed a Kleenex. He pulled out a roll of toilet paper from his desk! He did say ‘Don’t tell my wife!’. Anyway I just don’t use them.
On being shown the box of giant tissues on the TW interviewer’s table (Kleenex, bought in the UK) Kris thought these were a joke– see photo. “I’ve never seen such a thing,” she said, and burst out laughing. “I thought you’d got them as a joke pack! In fact you’d expect to see something this big in the States but I never have.”
Something does worry me, she added more seriously. The big revolution today seems to be these single-wipe products for every surface in your home – wood, windows, everything – quite thick paper saturated with chemicals. And that’s all you can find sometimes in the shops. They are big in the States but they are also widespread in France and this is such a waste! I would never buy them; I don’t think you need to kill every bug in your house.
In summary? Quality is more important than price; I pay more for soft and thick paper. And always white. TW
