Tissue is sold by weight, not by story. Two products that look identical on a shelf can differ by pulp furnish, ply count, basis weight and wet strength — and those four variables explain most of the price gap between quotations. For a buyer assembling a tissue range, understanding them is the difference between negotiating on value and negotiating on price alone.
Pulp furnish: the first cost driver
- Virgin wood pulp gives brightness, strength and a clean hand feel without de-inking risk. It is the default for facial tissue and for anything positioned on softness.
- Recycled pulp lowers cost and carries a sustainability story, but brightness and strength vary more, and the furnish needs to be consistent run to run. Ask for the recycled content percentage and how it is verified.
- Bamboo and other alternative fibres are used for a differentiated "natural" position. They behave differently in converting: tensile strength and softness do not follow the wood-pulp pattern, so a recipe proven on wood pulp cannot simply be swapped.
Basis weight, ply and sheet count
Basis weight (grams per square metre) and ply count together determine how substantial a tissue feels in the hand. A two-ply 15 gsm product and a three-ply 14 gsm product can feel similar while differing meaningfully in cost and in strength. Sheet count, sheet dimensions and roll length then set the retail price point.
The commercial trap is comparing quotations on sheet count alone. A 200-sheet pack of thinner, smaller sheets is not the same product as a 180-sheet pack of heavier, larger sheets, and presenting them as equivalent invites a complaint after launch. Compare on total area and total weight per pack.
Grade by product type
| Product | Dominant requirements | Specification notes |
|---|---|---|
| Facial tissue | Softness, brightness, low lint | Higher virgin pulp share, calender finish, box or pouch format |
| Toilet tissue | Strength when wet, dispersibility | Wet strength additive level is the critical balance: enough to resist tearing, not so much that it fails to disperse |
| Kitchen towel | Wet strength, absorbency, emboss pattern | Higher wet strength additive, deeper embossing for absorbency and bulk |
| Napkin | Stiffness, fold quality, printability | Higher basis weight, often laminated or embossed edge |
Toilet tissue is the grade where the wet-strength balance matters most, because the same additive that prevents a finger breaking through is the one that slows disintegration in a drain. Markets with older plumbing or septic systems are less tolerant of a slow-dispersing sheet, and some markets regulate dispersibility explicitly.
Converting details that show up in complaints
- Embossing raises bulk and absorbency and makes the product look fuller. Too much pressure crushes the sheet and reduces absorbency.
- Perforation and ply bonding determine whether the plies separate during use, which is a common and very visible defect.
- Roll winding tension affects how the roll unwinds; a tightly wound roll can drag and tear.
- Core and wrapper choices affect the roll's ability to hold shape in transit and its moisture protection in humid storage.
Moisture, storage and shipping
Tissue is hygroscopic and bulky, which makes it a difficult export product on both counts. Bulky means low container utilisation unless the product is compressed, and compression has limits before the roll deforms. Hygroscopic means the product absorbs humidity in transit, which can soften a napkin or degrade a carton. Ask how the supplier handles moisture protection — wrapper specification, carton liner, and whether desiccant is used — and confirm the pallet configuration and container loading plan before you agree the freight terms. The commercial conventions are covered in Incoterms and Shipping.
A comparison method that survives scrutiny
- Normalise every quote to cost per square metre and cost per kilogram of finished product.
- Record pulp furnish, recycled content, basis weight, ply and sheet dimensions for each line.
- Check wet strength and dispersibility for toilet tissue against the destination market's expectations.
- Test ply bonding and lint on a sample stored in humid conditions, not a fresh sample from the line.
See the tissue paper category for current lines, including facial tissue for OEM/ODM programmes, bamboo fibre tissue for export and premium wood pulp napkins. For negotiating on total cost rather than unit price, see Comparing Quotes on Landed Cost.