What is the one thing that everyone feels a bit hesitant to talk about? Toilet talk maybe?! Today we are here to talk precisely about that subject! We are here to share our research on exactly who makes Kirkland toilet paper for Costco.
If you want to skip the reading and get the good stuff then here it is – Our sources say that Clearwater Paper Corporation is the main one of several possible manufacturers of Kirkland toilet paper for Costco.

How much toilet paper does a USA household use?

Among household supplies, this might be the number one product that we go through at a high rate of speed, especially for large families. Hence, buying in bulk could save significant dollars in the long run, not to mention being nicer too, erm, ‘work with’!

With the cost of living increasing all the time people want to get a good deal on toiletries and are asking who is behind Kirkland Bath Tissue and how does Costco toilet tissue rank with the competition? The competition in this case comes from brands like Charmin Ultra bath Tissue, Marathon Bath Tissue, Cottonelle Ultra Comfort Bath Tissue, Seventh Generation Toilet Tissue or maybe Marcal 100% Recycled Bath Tissue to name just a few.

That’s where the dedicated research team at whomakehub.com come in; we want to do the hard work for you and give you the full lowdown on Kirkland toilet tissue. Since you are here, please indulge yourself and read all about Kirkland toilet paper’s owner, manufacturer, good and bad reviews, if it’s worth your money, and some other fun facts. 

Let’s chuck one wild fact out there and then dive right into it ok?. Did you know how many trees are needed to make the toilet paper that one person can use within their lifetime? It is 384 trees, yikes!

The amount of trees needed to provide toilet paper for one person’s lifetime! Not counted if you buy recycled of course!

Why Does Costco Hide Their Kirkland Toilet Tissue Manufacturer?

Who makes Kirkland toilet tissue for Costco has been kept a secret by Costco for obvious reasons. If you search for this info, you are likely to get no particular answer at all, just check out some of the rubbish articles floating around on the internet. We think it is Costco’s trade secret because the retail market for tissue papers is highly competitive. 

But here at whomakehub, our job is to reach out and get our research crew deep diving on the subject with Costco manufacturer research being among our most common projects. As already mentioned Our sources say that Clearwater Paper Corporation is one of several manufacturers of Kirkland toilet paper for Costco. However, it is normal to protect this identity because Costco does not want to a) Upset other brands who use the same manufacturer for their own similar products and b) give away their secrets to the competition.

As a result of being on the list of Costco’s 5 top-selling items, Kirkland tissue papers are already competing with hundreds of other brands within the Costco range but still, they remain a top seller which speaks volumes as to their quality in our opinion. Other similar items that are good sellers are Kirkland Paper Towels which we have done another mega research piece on.

How Much Toilet Paper Does Costco Sell?

Costco has over 64 million customers and CNBC dubbed toilet paper as Costco’s “crown jewel” some years back (in 2012 to be precise!). Seeing as Costco makes over $400 million in Toilet Paper sales annually, it would be cool to know the answer to “How much toilet paper does Costco sell?”. The Answer? Costco sells around 1 Billion rolls of Toilet tissue each year; to put that into perspective, that’s enough to wrap around the world a whopping 1200 times!

About Clearwater Paper Corporation

As already discussed the identity of the manufacturer has been protected by Costco to date, understandably because very often the same manufacturer will be producing the same or similar products for premium brands at a higher price point. Hence, our research has narrowed down the companies that have a significant probability of being the manufacturer of Kirkland’s bath tissue for Costco. 

The possible lineup of additional manufacturers is Kimberly Clark, Georgia Pacific, and the mighty Proctor and Gamble. Costco are known to use this list of established manufacturers because they are some of the most renowned toilet paper suppliers in America and Costco is known to use multiple manufacturers for their bigger product ranges.It gives them an element of redundancy in their supply chain.

Where Is Kirkland Toilet Paper Made?

Different Costco outlets may use different manufacturers based on supply chain efficiencies according to our source at Costco! Therefore, if you were to buy from two different stores that are some distance apart geographically, there is a good chance your Costco toilet paper is made by two different manufacturers. It depends on the Costco hub that their products have been distributed from as well. With over 800 outlets globally, Costco has a massive distribution network.

Our source assures us that Kirkland toilet paper is made stateside due to the fact that toilet tissue in bulk is a very expensive product to ship in terms of volume (which is primarily what determines the cost of shipping) and the relatively low price of the item itself. This theory would strongly lend itself to the fact that Costco has its Toilet Paper manufactured domestically and Clearwater Paper Corporation is top of the list. Their Lewiston Plant is also rumored as the facility used to product this toilet paper for Costco.

So with that information uncovered let’s move on to the next section after revealing another random toilet paper fact!

Random Toilet Fact: A recent survey says that almost 7% of Americans steal rolls of toilet paper in hotels or motels. Now that’s a dodgy secret!

Is Kirkland Toilet Paper Any Good?

Kirkland Signature range has a very good reputation and sells in massive volume for good reason; this is a good quality product at a great price. Here’s the lowdown of our Pro’s and Con’s for this item.

Pros

  • Great value for money
  • Found in all Costco stores
  • Comfortable to use
  • Good absorbency, softness, and thickness
  • Great strength when dry
  • Septic Safe

Cons

  • Might be slightly thinner than other more premium brands

Best Kirkland Toilet Paper Review

All of Kirkland’s toilet papers or bath tissues are relatively similar. However there are two main types, Ultra (thicker with less on a roll) and Normal (thinner with more on a roll). At this point, getting to know your sheets per roll is crucial because we use an average of 57 sheets of toilet paper a day!

1. Kirkland Signature Bath Tissue, 2-Ply

You will get 30 rolls with 380 sheets per roll with this one. They are 2 ply, so that’s two layers of comfort and absorbency. Every sheet comes in 4 by 4.5 inches. 15% thicker than the previous Kirkland Bath Tissue range. You can buy it from Costco here.

2. Kirkland Signature Ultra Soft Bath Tissue, 2-Ply

This also comes with 36 rolls per package but they contain 231 sheets per roll due to the extra thickness. They are also 2 ply with a wide Sheet Size – 4.5″ x 4.0″ measurement. Comes with a good customer rating as well at 4.5 stars with over 16,000 costco reviews! You can find it here on costco.

FAQs

Who makes Kirkland toilet paper for Costco?

Several Manufacturers make Kirkland toilet paper as this gives a good diversification in their supply chain. One of the main companies thought to be involved in production could be Clearwater Paper Corporation.

Which is better, Kirkland or Charmin?

Kirkland is mainly a budget-friendly option while Charmin is quite premium. Hence, they both will have different qualities and it’s not really a fair comparison. However comparing Kirkland Ultra range with Charmin toilet tissue, other than Charmin possibly being softer and slightly thicker, the differences are not huge by any means.

How Much is Toilet Paper at Costco

Kirkland Signature Bath Tissue, 2-Ply is currently $23.99 plus delivery.

Kirkland Signature Ultra Soft Bath Tissue, 2-Ply is currently $29.99 plus delivery.

Are Kirkland Toilet tissues made in China?

No, they are made domestically in the USA.

Kirkland Signature Bath Tissue v Marathon Bath Tissue

Again, not a really fair comparison as Marathon Bath Tissue comes with 48 rolls, that have 470 sheets per roll and is designed to be a commercial use toilet paper (aka more of it but it’s thinner!). Even the basic Kirkland Signature is thicker and softer in a direct comparison but if the price is your only benchmark, then Marathon is a strong contender.

Cottonelle Ultra Comfort Bath Tissue v Kirkland Ultra Soft Bath Tissue Reviews

Now we getting out the big guns! Cottonelle Bath Tissue is a 2-Ply, 268 Sheets supplied as 36 Rolls for current price of $32. Scoring 4.6 stars in 735 reviews on Costco the main theme is it is very high quality toilet paper but as not as wide as it could be. The Kirkland Ultra Soft Toilet Paper at $29.99 (at the time of writing) comes as 36 rolls with 231 sheets so the thickness is similar but the Cottonelle does edge it out on quality. The deciding factor is the $2 price difference and only you can decide on that!

Seventh Generation 100% Recycled Double Roll Bath Tissue V Kirkland Ultra Soft Bath Tissue Reviews

Priced at $22.99 currently
2-Ply White 24 per pack.
Kirkland is $0.83 per roll and Seventh Generation is $0.94. The reviews for Seventh Generation are 4 stars over 591 reviews with the main theme being its lighter, thinner and runs out fast. Our verdict, unless you are mega eco focused, the Kirkland takes it.

Scott Bath Tissue V Kirkland Signature Bath Tissue Reviews

Scott Bath Tissue Priced at $34.99 currently or $1.74 per roll, 2ply, 550 Sheets, 20 Rolls per pack gets 3.7 stars for 386 reviews on Costco with the main criticism being its thinness. As a result, people stated they used more. For our money, the Kirkland takes the prize again with its good price point.

Marcal 100% Recycled Bath Tissue V Kirkland Signature Bath Tissue Reviews

Marcal 100% Recycled Bath Tissue is priced currently at $56.49 from Costco, 2-Ply, 168 Sheets, 96 Rolls per pack gives $0.58 per roll cost versus $0.79 per roll for the Kirkland. We can’t give much info on the Marcal but it gets 3.5 stars from 276 reviews on Walmart with a balanced overview showing complaints about “thin paper”, “like sandpaper” “good for recycled” and “good for my vacation rental”. Based on these findings, if you like the best value for money the Marcal could be a strong contender if you can handle the fact you may use a lot of it for the same effect as a thicker paper like the Kirkland. If you’re all about quality, then the still well-priced Kirkland Signature is the one we would go for.

Conclusion

In Conclusion, we hope we have comprehensively answered your question on who makes Kirkland toilet paper and its manufacturer. While the competition is fierce we are still fans of both ranges of Costco toilet paper because of their quality and value for money! Our preferred choice is the Kirkland Ultra Soft range.

Thanks for reading!

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Max Stokes Author
Author

Hi, and welcome to WhoMakeHub. My name is Max Stokes. I am a degree qualified journalist and a passionate blogger! It is this combination of knowledge and curiosity that brought WhoMakeHub to life. On whomakehub.com you will find detailed information about product makers and manufacturers. After building this site over several years I have some great industry sources and contacts which help me bring the FACTS and the odd secret to our articles! This helps you in selecting the best products for your specific needs at any point in time.

3 Comments

  1. Sally Hartman Reply

    I do like your writing and wit. Next time you write about toilet paper, write it from the perspective of sustainability. Who makes the best sustainable toilet paper that uses post-consumer paper fiber? What companies, such as Proctor and Gamble and the Koch brothers of Georgia Pacific use unethical practices, such as clear cutting boreal forests or polluting the air?

  2. Ross Brown Reply

    Never read so much details about toilet paper lol well done whomakehub! Costco is my go to for a lot of items but even more so now I know this sort of detail about their products. Keep up the good work

    • Avatar photo

      Hey,
      Thanks Ross! Really glad that you liked the article. It took some major researching! Indeed, it does validate the quality of Costco products and how they dont ever cheap out from our research! Additionally, you would not believe how much I know about different toilet paper brands. It makes great conversation with my girlfriend on nights out!! (not!) Cheers

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