University of Wisconsin – Stout

Product Protection Requirements
Toilet paper (TP), a consumer commodity that is taken for granted way too often. Nothing can turn a fun filled trip to the great outdoors south faster than the supply of TP getting soaked, rendering it useless. Thus being forced scavenge for objects in nature to wipe the ole fanny; Sometimes natures resource selection can be slim and you may be forced to choose between a rock and a pinecone (fyi- as bad as it sounds, the pinecone is your best bet).
TP is extremely reactive to water! If it gets wet it is useless. Water is a vastly abundant in nature, which makes creating a water-tight container of utmost importance.
When camping you may not have a whole lot of space to store items such as TP, so the more compact the product, the better. It is also important to know where everything is packed so you can retrieve it quickly when you need it. This pertains especially to TP, If you have ever strictly eaten camping food you would know that when you have to go, you have to go.

The Design
Cartridge: We took the conventional TP roll and turned it inside out, putting the TP inside the convoluted fiberboard tube; each of these being individual cartridges holding various lengths of TP depending on the customers preference of ply. Each cartridge is more compact than the conventional roll of TP, which makes it a lot easier to pack extras that can be thrown in an ordinary re-sealable waterproof bag (i.e. Ziplock™ bag) inside the campers bag.

Secondary Package- Waterproof refillable containter: This is a rigid plastic watertight container, that has a screw on lid with a flip top (containing watertight gaskets) that is lockable by putting a carabiner through the flip-top door and the solid part of the lid. The rigid plastic will be infused with glow-in-the-dark luminescent ink additives, so it is easy to locate in the dark. The screw on lid allows for the cartridges to be easily replaced, and the flip-top lid allows for ease of dispensing the product. The carabiner allows the container to be securely closed and to clip it on to something (i.e. backpack) creating ease of access. Note: Sold separately, includes 1 cartridge, the only packaging it will require is a tamper evident seal to indication the single cartridge has not been tampered with.

Secondary Package: Made out of paperboard and a clear polymer film window, designed to hold 9 cartridges. We used paperboard because the product will most likely sit in storage for a good amount of time. The user may only take 1 or 2 cartridges with them each camping trip, so a paperboard carton would be easier to store than conventional polymer film. The window is designed to resemble a tent, and intended to allow potential customers the new design of the product.

Note: All materials are eligible to be made out of biomass or 100% recycled material.