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COVID DIDN’T CHANGE MY BUYING HABITS VERY MUCH … BUT JUST WAIT UNTIL BABY ARRIVES IN MARCH
Brazilian-born world traveller Márcio Moura is, unsurprisingly, an avid football fan. His team is São Paulo’s Corinthians, and Márcio lives in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, where he works for the Federal Revenue Service of Brazil. He has travelled widely and has also lived and worked in South Korea, Africa and the UK. He and his partner Maria are expecting their first child in March.
A
t home, tissue and towel products play an important role in my daily life and my family uses all tissue and towel
products, toilet paper, kitchen tissue, facial tissue, napkins, etc. I also have the habit of keeping toilet paper and facial tissue in the car’s glove compartment as they come in handy when travelling. Usually I buy these products at supermarkets and pharmacies. I’ve never ordered this kind of product online, mainly because it’s quick and easy just to pop down to our local shops to see and buy the products. Occasionally I will bulk buy toilet paper to save some money. When it comes to loo roll and napkins, I prioritise high-quality products. Especially toilet tissue which has to be soft and fairly thick, preferably double layered. In this case, the brand of the product is important and I tend to stick to it. I like the familiarity of a product I know works well, and I am conservative! But I’m not closed to experimenting with new brands either. My favourite is Kimberly-Clark for that matter ... and for the other products, price trumps quality. I usually choose the cheapest one with some quality. among regions with the quality and variety
buying habits haven’t changed. Even during
recognising the importance of this issue
of products in supermarkets in poorer
the hardest time when restrictions were
I don’t usually take it into consideration
regions. Northern Brazil is more like Africa
tightened and we were in lockdown, I kept
when buying products. Usually I assume the
in its cultures and habits and there are fewer
buying at the supermarkets. At that time, I
companies are responsible … so the only two
tissue and towel products available, whereas
used to buy more quantities in fewer trips,
variables I use in my decision making process
the south of Brazil is more similar to Europe,
not due to the fear of supply shortage but to
are quality and price. I may have been naive
with a lot of high-quality tissue and towel
avoid going out too frequently.
in this matter!
products easily available.
In terms of sustainable products, despite
Whenever I’ve travelled abroad, you see
During the year I worked in South Korea
I think the biggest change to my household will arrive in March as we are
that some of the poorer countries offer little
I also noticed that there were many higher
expecting our first child. While we are – not
variety of brands, and consequently it’s
quality products there, especially those made
yet – stocking up on products, I will be soon!
harder to find quality products. However,
for skincare. Koreans are very concerned
A baby completely changes the routine of a
I cannot complain about my experiences.
about their skin, so for all kinds of products
household, so I’m certain the consumption of
In Africa, for example, I cannot recall bad
that touch your skin, you know they have
toilet paper and kitchen towel will increase
experiences with toilet paper there. And
good quality.
enormously!
even in Brazil, it’s noticeable the differences
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Tissue World Magazine | January/February 2022
Since the outbreak of Covid-19, my
