No longer bog standard: how loo roll became a status symbol

Since the pandemic toilet paper has come out of the shadows to take centre stage in UK bathrooms

Handbags and cars are more traditional status symbols, but in these topsy-turvy times the humble toilet roll is being treated with more reverence than you would expect for something used to wipe your bottom with. In the toilets of trendy restaurants or friends, proud pyramids of loo roll stand in bright, graphic wrapping. On Instagram, influencers now allow it to stay in the backdrop of bathroom selfies rather than hiding it.

While Who Gives A Crap (WGAC) may be one of the more familiar brands, delivering its first striped and spotty rolls in 2013, others with similarly colourful packaging and eco-friendly messaging have sprung up such as Bazoo and Feel Good. There are also those in more muted tones including The Cheeky Panda, Bumboo and Naked Sprout. Using recycled paper or bamboo, they are not shy about advertising their sustainable credentials.