TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO STANDARD  
 
COMPULSORY  
 
 
TOILET TISSUE  – COMPULSORY  REQUIREMENTS  
 
PCTTCS 29:20XX  
(Replaces TTS 543:2002 ) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Copyright ©  
This National Standard issued by the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards is copyright protected by the Stand ards Act No. 
18 of 1997 and neither this document nor any extract from it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted i n 
any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission being s ecured 
from the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards.  
Request for permission to reproduce should be addressed as follows:  
Executive Director  
Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards  
Century Drive, Trincity Industrial Estate,  
Macoya, Tunapuna,  
P.O. Box 46 7, Port of Spain  
Trinidad and Tobago  
Phone: 662 -TTBS E -MAIL: ttbs@ttbs.org.tt  
 
 
 
 PCTTCS 29:20XX  
ii Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards disclaimer and exclusion of liability  
The information contained herein is provided without any representations, warranties or conditio ns of 
any kind, express or implied, including (but not limited to) implied warranties or conditions concerning 
the accuracy, reliability, completeness or currency of the information.  
The Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (TTBS) makes no representatio n and gives no 
warranties in relation to the information herein, its compliance with any relevant statue, rule, regulation, 
policy formulation, legal instrument or notice whatsoever and where so ever derived nor whether the 
said information infringes or is  likely to infringe any patent, copyright, specification, design, invention 
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Neither the TTBS as a body corporate nor its members, employees, subsidiaries, affiliates or 
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party for such loss or damage payable by it arising from the use of said information.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 PCTTCS 29 :20XX  
 iii General statement  
The Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (the Bureau) is a body corporate established under 
the authority of the Standards Act No. 18 of 1997 (herein after referred to as the Standards Act).  
In accordance with the Standards Act, the Bureau shall promote and encourage the development and 
maintenance of standards and further shall establish standards for the follow ing: to improve goods 
produced or used in Trinidad and Tobago; to ensure industrial efficiency and development; to promote 
public and industrial welfare, health and safety; and to protect the environment.  
The Bureau develops standards through consultation with relevant interest groups, and public 
comment is invited on all draft standards before they are declared as Trinidad and Tobago Standards 
in accordance with the provisions of the Standards Act.  
The Bureau is the legal custodian of Trinidad and Tobago S tandard Marks, which are issued in 
accordance with the Standards Act. When a Trinidad and Tobago Standard Mark appears on any 
product, or in connection with any service, process or practice, it provides assurance that such a 
product, service, process or pr actice conforms to a Trinidad and Tobago Standard.  
The Bureau’s Standards Information Centre maintains a reference library of standards, including local, 
regional and international standards and is the national node of the International Organization for 
Standardization Information Network (ISONET).  The Centre serves as the WTO/TBT Enquiry Point 
which disseminates information on standards and technical regulations as it relates to the World 
Trade Organization, Technical Barrier s to Trade Agreement. It also a cts as the sales agent for the 
publications of foreign and international standards organizations.  
NOTE  In order to keep abreast of progress in the industries concerned, Trinidad and Tobago 
Standards are subject to periodic review. Suggestions for improveme nts are welcome.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 PCTTCS 29:20XX  
iv Contents  
              
             Foreword  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........................  1 
1 Scope  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................  2 
2 Normative references  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  2 
3 Terms and definitions  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  2 
4 General requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 4 
5 Specific requirements  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  5 
6 Labelling  ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................  5 
7 Conflict with other national standards  ................................ ................................ ...............  7 
8 Mechanisms to demonstrate compliance  ................................ ................................ ..........  7 
9 Measures related to non -compliance  ................................ ................................ ................  8 
 
 
 
 
 PCTTCS 29 :20XX  
 1 Foreword  
This s tandard  was declared a Trinidad and Tobago Standard on …….. , after the draft  had been 
approved by the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (TTBS).  
TTCS  29:20XX, Toilet Tissue  – Compulsory requirements  was established  in alignment with the 
principles of Good Regul atory Practices to outline  minimum requirements for toilet tissue . It replaces 
the following Trinidad and Tobago Standard which is obsolete and has been withdrawn:  
 TTS 543 : 2002 , Specification for toilet tissue  
 
TTCS 29:20XX is based on  CRS 51  :2022 , Toile t tissue  – Specification.  
 
TTCS  29:20XX differs from TTS 543  with respect to the following:  
a) The labelling requirements have been updated in alignment with the national compulsory labelling 
standard for pre -packaged goods.  
b) The compliance clause has been upd ated and an addition al clause has been included to address 
non-compliance issues.  
c) Requirements have been condensed in alignment with the legal mandate of TTBS under the 
latest version of the Standards Act No.18 of 1997.  
 
TTBS has recommended  that this stan dard be accorded compulsory status . This standard will 
become  effective as a compulsory standard on a date to be notified by the Minister responsible for 
trade and industry in a Notice to be published in the Trinidad and Tobago Gazette, as required by the 
Standards Act (Chapter 82:03) to:  
1) protect the consumer or user against danger to health or safety;  
2) require adequate information to be given to the consumer or user ; and  
3) prevent fraud or misrepresentation arising from misleading advertising or labelling.  
 
This standard is intended for use by:  
- manufacturers , agent s, distributor s, seller s, importer s, wholesaler s and  retailer s of toilet 
tissue  to assist in man ufacturing or procuring products which satisfy minimum requirements 
and demonstrate  compliance to this compulsory standard; and  
- regulatory agencies as a basis for assessing imported or locally  manufactured toilet tissue  
within an established regulatory framework.  
 
In the preparation of this standard, considerable information was obtai ned from the following 
document, which was  current at the time that this standard was being prepared:  
CARICOM Regional Standard  
- CRS 51  :2022 , Toilet tissue – Specification  
 
 
 
 
 
 PCTTCS 29:20XX  
2 1 Scope  
This standard es tablishes  physical  and labelling  requirements for toilet tissue  for use  in Trini dad and 
Tobago . 
It applies to the following  forms of toilet tissue : 
 single -ply; 
 two-ply; 
 multi -ply;  
 single rolls;  and 
 coreless toilet tissue.  
 
The standard also applies to multi -packs and cartons . 
 
This standard  does not apply to toilet wipes, facial wipe s, facial tissue  or jumbo rolls of toilet tissue . 
2  Normative referenc e 
The following document is  referred to in  the text in such a way that some or all of its content 
constitutes requirements of this  document.  For undated reference, the latest edition of t he referenced 
document (including any amendments) applies.  
International Organi zation for Standardization  
ISO 12625 -6, Test method for the determination of grammage  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this document , the following terms and definitio ns apply.  
3.1  
basis weight  
grammage  
mass of toilet tissue in grams per square metre (g/m2)  
 
3.2  
carton  
secondary packaging  
packaging designed to contain one or more primary packagings together with any protective materials 
where required  
 
Note  1 to entry:    This definition  does not include multi -packs.  
 
 
3.3 
common name  
name by which toilet tissue is  commonly described in Trinidad a nd Tobago, or any name for toilet 
tissue  that is commonly used in any trade, art, craft, science, industry or occupatio n in countries using 
the official language of the country in which it is being used  
3.4 
country of origin  
a) country where the goods were wholly manufactured; or  PCTTCS 29 :20XX  
 3  
b) in cases where the composition and or quality of the goods was changed to a significant  extent 
elsewhere (other than by packaging), the last country where such significant change occurred  
 
Note 1 to entry: A significant change in the product refers to where there is a change in the product that has 
resulted in a change of the Harmonized Com modity Description an d Coding System (HS Code) as per World 
Trade Organization guidelines.  
 
3.5  
jumbo roll  
large roll of tissue paper, wound up on the winding station, covering either the full width or part of the 
width of the tissue dispensing machine  
 
3.6 
label  
any tag, brand, mark, pictorial or other descriptive matter, written, printed, stencilled, marked, 
embossed, impressed on, accompanying or attached to a container  
3.7  
lot  
aggregate of tissue paper of a single kind with specified characteristics  produced under conditions 
that are presumed uniform and available for sampling at one time  
 
3.8  
multi -ply  
toilet tissue that contains more than two layers of paper per sheet  
 
3.9  
ply  
any of the several layers of paper in toilet tissue  
 
3.10  
primar y packaging  
packaging designed to come into direct contact with the toilet tissue   
 
Note  1 to entry:    This definition  does not include multi -packs.  
 
3.11  
pulp  
the fibrous cellulose material of natural plant origin, which has been prepared for the manuf acture of 
paper  
 
3.12  
recycled paper  
paper manufactured from a pulp that was prepared from reclaimed waste paper  
 
3.13  
sample  
subset of a population made up of one or more sampling units  
 
 
 
 
 PCTTCS 29:20XX  
4 3.14  
sheet  
the portion of toilet tissue between two con secutive perforations on a roll  
 
Note 1 to entry:   A sheet may comprise one or more plies.  
 
3.15  
soiled  
toilet tissue that has undergone a change in appearance due to the surface attachment of dirt or other 
foreign material  
 
3.16 
toilet tissue  
tissue paper intended for sanitary use after using the toilet  
 
3.17  
unit 
component of a lot which may be in the form of a bale or carton  
 
 
4 General  requirements  
4.1 Toilet tissue shall be unglazed  when visually inspected.  
NOTE    Unglazed tissue refers to tissu e that has not been calendered to increase its smoothness and gloss.   
4.2 Toilet tissue shall not be soiled and shall be free from foreign material and breaks.  
NOTE      Foreign material typically  include s wood, metal or plastic.  
4.3 Toilet  tissue shall  not include excessive holes or wrinkles so as to not affect the performance of 
the toilet tissue.  
 
4.4 The dye used in coloured toilet tissue shall not be leached out by water  when tested in 
accordance with a test method that is acceptable to TTBS .  
 
4.5  Where specific dyes, inks, fragrances and chemicals are used  in the manufacturing of toilet tissue , 
they shall be non -hazardous and the manufacturer or importer shall submit the relevant technical data 
sheets or safety data sheets or both to TTBS upon req uest.  
4.6  If no fragrance has been added to the toilet tissue, it shall be odourless or emit a paper scent.  
  
4.7 The sheets of the toilet tissue shall not be torn or otherwise mutilated.  
 
4.8  Glue spots shall be permissible on a maximum of the first th ree layers of the roll  of toilet tissue  
and the last three layers closest to the core and there shall be easy release of the toilet tissue  at initial 
opening.  
 
4.9 The start of the roll of toilet tissue shall be easily discernible and detachable.  
 
4.10 When determining the number of sheets and total area of the roll of toilet tissue, all the sheets in 
the roll shall be utilized.  
  PCTTCS 29 :20XX  
 5 4.11 The individually -packaged roll of toilet tissue shall be wrapped in a protective covering and 
closed at both ends to preve nt contamination during handling and storage.  
 
NOTE  The tissue is typically  manufactured from virgin chemical or mechanical pulp; secondary fibres 
(recycled paper) from either virgin chemical or mechanical pulp , or a mixture of both .  
5 Specific requirement s 
5.1 Core  
5.1.1 The toilet tissue  shall be evenly wound on a cylindrical core made of paste board or other 
suitable material.  
 
5.1.2 . The core shall not collapse prior to sale to the consumer.  
5.1.3 The requirements of clauses 5.1.1 and  5.1.2 shall not apply  to coreless toilet tissue.  
  
5.2 Basis weight or grammage  
The minimum  basis weight or grammage of a  roll of toilet tissue shall comply with the following  when 
tested in accordance with ISO 12625 -6 or any standard that is acceptable to TTBS : 
a) 16 g/ m2  for si ngle ply;  
b)  13.5 g/ m2  for two -ply; and  
c)  12.5 g/ m2 for multi -ply. 
NOTE    It is good practice to discard the first few layers  (between 8 -15 sheets)  of the roll  of toilet tissue  to ensure 
that a r epresentative sample  is obtained . 
 
5.3 Perforations  
5.3.1  The pe rforations along the toilet tissue sheets shall be uniform.  
5.3.2  The perforations shall extend along the entire width of the roll.  
5.3.3 The perforations shall be perpendicular to the edges of the toilet tissue sheets and shall 
facilitate the easy separation of  sheets.  
6 Labelling  
6.1 Primary packaging  
6.1.1    Retail packages of toilet tissue  shall be labelled in a legible, discernible and durable manner up 
to the point of sale , at a minimum in the English language and the English alphabet.  
6.1.2   Where the bran d name of the goods, or the name and address of the manufacturer of the 
goods or of such other person as required by this standard are not in the English Language, it shall 
not be necessary to translate the meaning of such name(s) and address into the Engl ish Language, 
but such information shall be stated in a form using the English alphabet, with or without accent signs . PCTTCS 29:20XX  
6 6.1.3 The label on the toilet tissue shall contain the following information:  
a) common name, ge neric name or usual name ; 
b) trade name or bran d name;  
c) a state ment of : 
1) name  of the manufacturer, agent , seller, importer, wholesaler, retailer or distributor ; and  
2) address, or the principal place of business or registered office of the manufacturer, agent , 
distributor, seller, importer, wholesaler or  retailer of toilet tissue;  
The above information shall be preceded by the words “manufactured by  (name of entity) ”, 
“distributed by  (name of entity) ”, or “imported by  (name of entity) ” or any format that is acceptable to 
TTBS.  
NOTE  The list of acceptable formats for name and address is available at TTBS' website and is updated as 
necessary  
d) country of origin which is stated with the following words as appropriate  or any format that is 
acceptable to TTBS:  
1) “made in  (name of country) ”;  
2) “product of  (name of country) ”;  
3) “manufactured in  (name of country) ”; 
4) “produced in  (name of country) ” and  
5) “packaged in  (name of country) ”. 
NOTE      It is useful  for the contact information of the manufacturer,  agent , distributor, seller, importer, 
wholesaler, or r etailer to be placed on the label.  
EXAMPLE  Telephone number, email  address, website, QR code, social media handle etc.  
e) number of p lies; 
f) number of sheets per roll;  
g) the total area of the roll of toilet tissue  in square metres (m2);  
NOTE       ISO 12625 -6 provides guidance as to the accuracy of devices that can be used to measure the 
dimensions of the sheet of toilet tissue. Good indus try pr actice suggests thirty sheets can be used to assess the 
average area of a single sheet which can then be multiplied by the total number of sheets in the roll of toilet 
tissue.  
h) colour of the tissue if not white;  
i) if a scent has been added to the toile t tissue, then this shall be indicated by the use of the word 
“fragrance”, “aroma” or “scent” or words of similar intent clearly stat ed on the label or packaging; 
and PCTTCS 29 :20XX  
 7 j) batch number or lot number; if coded, the interpretation of the code shall be communicate d to 
TTBS  upon request.  
6.2 Multi -packs  
Multi -packs containing toilet tissue shall be labelled according to  clause  6.1 and the label shall also 
include the number of rolls in the pack.  
 
6.3 Cartons or secondary packaging  
 
6.3.1  The carton or secondary p ackaging  of toilet tissue , if opaque, shall be labelled with the following 
information:  
 
a) A statement of : 
1) name  of the manufacturer, agent , distributor, seller, importer, wholesaler or retailer ; and 
2) address, or the principal place of business or registered office of the manufacturer, agent , 
distributor, seller, importer, wholesaler or  retailer of toilet tissue;  
The above information shall be preceded by the words “manufactured by”, “distributed by”, or 
“imported by” or any format that is acceptable to TTBS.  
b)  common name, ge neric name or usual name ; and 
c) number of rolls in the carton.  
 
6.3.2   If the secondary packaging  of toilet tissue  is transparent, then it shall not be labelled.  
 
7 Conflict with other national standards  
Whenever there is a conflict betwe en the requirements of this standard and any other compulsory 
national standard(s) covering the same product(s) or categories of products, the standard(s) 
containing the more specific requirements shall take precedence.  
8 Mechanisms to demonstrate c ompliance  
8.1   Locally  manufactured and imported toilet tissue  shall comply with the requir ements outlined in 
this standard. TTBS shall verify compliance to this standard and toilet tissue  under the scope of this 
standard shall be subject to a mandatory conformity  assessment programme administered by TTBS . 
EXAMPLE    Conformity assessment activities include inspection, testing, certification, verification and 
validation.  
8.2 TTBS may consider and accept information from other sources, such as third party testing, 
product certification and/or quality management system certification from an accredited body. If an 
accredited body is not available, the information can be provided by a body approved by TTBS, 
subject to the terms and conditions of TTBS in accordance with the latest version of the Standards 
Act (Chapter 82:03) , to provide objective evidence of compliance to the standard. The information 
may include test reports and other relevant information. Provision of this information does not exempt PCTTCS 29:20XX  
8 TTBS from conducting  any further conformity assessment activities deemed necessary to 
demonstrate compliance with the standard.    
8.3 In the event the toilet tissue  has a product certification mark, the certification mark shall be 
genuine. B oth the certification mark and the associated standard shall be submitted to  TTBS  for 
approval . 
8.4 Notwithstanding Clause 8.2, the TTBS reserves the right to sample and test for compliance to this 
standard at the expense of the manufacturer, agent, distrib utor, seller,  importer, wholesaler , or r etailer 
responsible for the toilet tissue  (where applicable)  in accordance with the latest version of the 
Standards Act (Chapter 82:03), if deemed necessary by TTBS.  
NOTE  The sampling plan is at the discretion of TTBS .  
8.5 All documentation pertai ning to Clauses 6 and 8  shall be in the English language.  
9 Measures related to non -compliance  
9.1 For toilet tissue  under the scope of this standard that is found to be in non-compliance  of any of 
the requirements, TTBS shall initiate any of the following act ions:  
a) direct the manufacturer, agent, distrib utor, seller,  importer, wholesaler, or retailer responsible for 
the toilet tissue  to remove  non-conforming toilet tissue  from use throughout Trinidad and Tobago 
within a specified timeframe;  
b) seize and detain non -conforming toilet tissue  within the legal  framework in accordance with the 
latest version of the Standards Act (Chapter 82:03);  
c) prohibit the sale and distribution of non -compliant toilet tissue  in Trinidad and Tobago;  
d) permit modifications necessary for co mpliance, where possible; or  
e) any action permitted by the latest version of the Standards Act (Chapter 82:03).  
9.2 Any breaches to this standard are subject to fines and penalties in accordance with the latest 
version of th e Standards Act (Chapter 82:03).