A longshoremen strike at U.S. ports has people panic-buying toilet paper. But experts say there’s no need to stockpile Charmin.
UPDATE: The union representing the striking dockworkers reached a deal on Thursday, Oct. 3 to suspend the strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract. The union’s members will resume working immediately. The original story continues as published below:
On Oct. 1, 45,000 dockworkers at 36 U.S. ports went on strike over wages and automation. As a result, people across the country started stocking up on groceries and other essential items in fear of a shortage.
Numerous posts on social media show empty shelves in stores after people purchased large amounts of toilet paper. One TikTok video with over 500,000 views says to “stop panicking and buying up all the toilet paper” because “it’s all made in the good ole USA!”
THE QUESTION
Is toilet paper imported?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
No, the majority of toilet …