Editing Paper towel (section)

==Market==
Tissue products in North America, including paper towels, are divided into consumer and commercial markets, with household consumer usage accounting for approximately two thirds of total North American consumption.<ref name="ppiOct2008">{{cite web|title=Tissue market continues to grow |url=http://www.risiinfo.com/magazines/pulp-paper/magazine/october/2008/PPMagOctober-Tissue-market-continues-to-grow.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216014855/http://www.risiinfo.com/magazines/pulp-paper/magazine/october/2008/PPMagOctober-Tissue-market-continues-to-grow.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-12-16 |work=Pulp & Paper Int'l Digital Edition |date=October 2008 |publisher=RISI |access-date=2009-10-31 |author=Brad Kalil, Director of Tissue }}</ref> Commercial usage, or otherwise any use outside of the household, accounts for the remaining third of North American consumption.<ref name="ppiOct2008"/>  The growth in commercial use of paper towels can be attributed to the migration from folded towels (in public bathrooms, for example) to [[paper-towel dispenser|roll towel dispensers]], which reduces the amount of paper towels used by each patron.<ref name="ppiOct2008"/>

Within the [[forest product]]s [[wood industry|industry]], paper towels are a major part of the "tissue market", second only to [[toilet paper]].<ref name="ppiOct2008" />

Globally, Americans are the highest [[per capita]] users of paper towels in the home,<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/12/paper-towels-us-use-consume/577672/|title=Americans Are Weirdly Obsessed With Paper Towels|last=Pinsker|first=Joe|date=2018-12-10|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-11}}</ref> at approximately {{convert|24|kg}} yearly consumption per capita (combined consumption approximately [[Orders of magnitude (mass)#106 to 1011 kg|{{convert|7.8|e6t}}]] per year). This is 50% higher than in Europe and nearly 500% higher than in Latin America.<ref name="ppiOct2008" /> By contrast, people in the Middle East tend to prefer reusable cloth towels, and people in Europe tend to prefer reusable [[cleaning sponge]]s.<ref name=":0" />

Paper towels are popular primarily among people who have disposable income, so their use is higher in wealthy countries and low in developing countries.<ref name=":0" />

Growing hygiene consciousness during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] led to a boost in paper towel market growth.{{citation needed|date = December 2021}}