DRAFT UGANDA STANDARD  
  DUS126:2019 
Second Edition 
2019 -mm-dd 
 
 
 Reference number 
US nnnn-n: yyyy 
© UNBS yyyy  
  
Toilet paper — Specification 
 DUS 126: 2019  
ii © UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved 
 Compliance with this standard does not, of itself c onfer immunity from legal obligations 
A Uganda Standard does not purport to include all ne cessary provisions of a contract. Users are 
responsible for its correct application  
© UNBS 2019   
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilised in any 
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without prior written 
permission from UNBS. 
Requests for permission to reproduce this document should be addressed to 
The Executive Director 
Uganda National Bureau of Standards 
P.O. Box 6329 
Kampala 
Uganda 
Tel: +256 414 333 2 50/1/2/3 
Fax: +256 414 286 123 
E-mail: info@unbs.go.ug  
Web: www.unbs.go.ug  DUS 126:2019  
© UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved  iii 
 Contents Page 
Foreword ............................................................................................................................................................  iv 
1 Scope ......................................................................................................................................................  1 
2 Normative references (mandatory)  ......................................................................................................  1 
3 Terms and definitions ...........................................................................................................................  1 
4 Requirements .........................................................................................................................................  3 
4.1 General requirements ...........................................................................................................................  3 
4.2 Specific requirements ...........................................................................................................................  3 
5 Construction ..........................................................................................................................................  6 
5.1 General ...................................................................................................................................................  6 
5.2 Rolls ........................................................................................................................................................  6 
6.2 Wrapping ................................................................................................................................................  7 
6.3 Package ..................................................................................................................................................  7 
6.4 Labelling .................................................................................................................................................  7 
7 Sampling ................................................................................................................................................  7 
7.1 General ....................................................................................................................................................  7 
7.2 Sample for toilet paper ..........................................................................................................................  7 
7.3 Conditioning of test specimens ...........................................................................................................  8 
Annex A (normative)  Determination of softness ............................................................................................  9 
A.1 Apparatus ...............................................................................................................................................  9 
A.2 Test specimens ......................................................................................................................................  9 
A.3 Procedure ...............................................................................................................................................  9 
Bibliography ......................................................................................................................................................  10 
 DUS 126: 2019  
iv © UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved 
 Foreword 
Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is a parastatal under the Ministry  of Trade, Industry and 
Cooperatives established under  Cap 327, of the Laws of Uganda, as amended.  UNBS is mandated to co-
ordinate the elaboration of standards and is  
(a) a member of International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and  
(b) a contact point for the WHO/FAO Codex Alimentarius Commission on Food Standards, and  
(c) the National Enquiry Point on TBT Agreement of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) . 
The work of preparing Uganda Standards is carried out through Technical Committees. A T echnical 
Committee is established to deliberate on standards in a given field or area and consi sts of key stakeholders 
including government, academia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties.  
Draft Uganda Standards adopted by the Technical Committee are widely circulated to stakeholders and the 
general public for comments. The committee reviews the comments before recom mending the draft standards 
for approval and declaration as Uganda Standards by the National Standards Council. 
The committee responsible for this document is Technical Committee UNBS/TC ###, [name of committee] , 
Subcommittee SC ##, [name of subcommittee] . 
This second/third/… edition cancels and replaces the first/second/… edition (U S nnn-n :yyyy), which has been 
technically revised.  
US nnn consists of the following parts, under the general title Introductory element — Main element :  
  Part n: Part title  
  Part [n+1]: Part title  
  Part [n+2]: Part title  
 UGANDA STANDARD DUS 126: 2019  
 
© UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved  1 
 Toilet paper — Specification   
1 Scope  
This draft Uganda standard specifies the requirements, sampling and test methods for toilet paper made from 
virgin, blended or recycled pulp.  
2 Normative references  
The following referenced documents referred to in the text in such a way that so me or all of their content 
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition c ited applies. For undated 
references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies. 
ISO 187 , Paper, board and pulps — Standard atmosphere for conditioning and testing and procedure for 
monitoring the atmosphere and conditioning of samples  
ISO 287, Paper and board — Determination of moisture content of a lot — Oven-drying method  
ISO 6588- 1, Paper, board and pulps — Determination of pH of aqueous extracts — Part 1 : Cold extraction  
ISO 11093- 7, Paper and board — Testing of core — Part 7: Determination of flexural modulus by the three-
point method  
ISO 12625- 1, Tissue paper and tissue products — Part 1: General guidance on terms   
ISO 12625- 4, Tissue paper and tissue products — Part 4: Determination of tensile strength, stretch at break 
and tensile energy absorption  
ISO 12625- 6, Tissue paper and tissue products — Part -6: Determination of grammage  
ISO 12625-7,  Tissue paper and tissue products — Part 7: Determination of optical propertie s — Measurement 
of brightness and colour with D65/10 ° (outdoor daylight)  
ISO 12625-8 , Tissue paper and tissue products — Part 8: Water-absorption time and water-capacity, basket-
immersion test method  
3 Terms and definitions  
For the purposes of this docum ent, the terms and definitions given in ISO 12625-1 apply.  
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following address es:  
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp  
3.1 
creped paper  
paper that has been subjected to creping DUS 126: 2019  
2 © UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved 
 3.2 
creping 
operation of crinkling in order to increase its stretch and softness 
3.3 
cross-direction (CD) 
direction in the plane of a paper perpendicular to the machine direction 
3.4 
machine direction (MD) 
direction in a paper or a board parallel to the direction of travel of the web on the paper or board mac hine 
3.5 
sheet  
portion of toilet paper between consecutive rows of perforations on a roll irrespe ctive of whether the toilet 
paper is single-ply or multi-ply 
3.6 
hole 
area in the sheet void of fibres and having a specified diameter 
3.7 
defective 
roll of toilet paper, or a group of rolls of toilet paper whose av erage property has been determined, that fails in one 
or more respects to comply with the relevant requirem ents of this standard 
3.8 
lot 
rolls of toilet paper of the same grade and colour wh ich have been manufactured from the same base material  
and under essentially the same conditions  
3.9 
ply 
layer of single sheet 
3.10 
virgin tissue paper 
tissue made from virgin pulp 
3.11 
recycled tissue paper 
tissue made from recycled pulp 
3.12 
blended tissue paper 
tissue made from a mixture of virgin and recycled pulp 
3.13 
embossed paper 
paper of which raised or depressed design has been produced generally by pre ssure from engraved roll or 
plate 
 
3.14 
grammage 
mass of a unit area of paper or board determined by the standard test method DUS 126: 2019  
© UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved  3 
 3.15 
tissue paper 
wet- or dry-crêped or uncrêped (single ply) sheet material, manufactured on any kind of tissue paper machine, 
mainly based on cellulosic fibre pulps 
3.16 
tissue product 
tissue paper in its converted form, single or multi-ply, embossed or not embosse d, laminated or not laminated 
as required for its intended use 
 
4 Requirements 
4.1 General requirements 
4.1.1  Toilet paper shall be made from processed virgin pulp, blended or recycl ed pulp. Chemicals used in 
manufacture of toilet paper shall not . be harmful and cause irritation to human beings when used for its intended 
purpo se. 
4.1.2  Toilet paper shall meet the following requirements: 
a) be m anufactured, packaged and handled under  good hygienic practice. 
b) the core shall be rigid enough not to collapse under normal conditions of transportation and usage. 
c) be free from paper defects (for example, fibre bundles, wood splinters) that m ay impair its 
serviceability. 
d) be white or coloured.  
4.2 Specific requirements 
4.2.1  Toilet paper shall comply with the requirements given in Table 1 when tested in accordance with the 
methods prescribed therein. DUS 126: 2019  
4 © UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved 
 Table 1 — Specific requirements for single ply and double pl y toilet paper 
S/No. Property Requirement Test method 
I 
Grammage, 
g/m2 per ply 
 Virgin tissue  16 – 21   
ISO 12625-6 Blended 
tissue 16 – 24 
Recycled 
tissue 17 – 24 
Ii Tensil
e 
streng
th, 
N/m 
of 
width, 
min. 
 MD 
 Virgin tissue 140-220  
 
ISO 12625-4 Blended 
tissue 140 to 220 
Recycled 
tissue 140 to 220 
CD Virgin tissue 47 to 107 
Blended 
tissue 47 to 107 
Recycled 
tissue 47 to 107 
Avera
ge of 
both 
directi
ons Virgin tissue 93 to 164 
Blended 
tissue 93 to 164 
Recycled 
tissue 93 to 164 
Iii Water absorptiveness, g/m2, 
min. 20 ISO 12625-8 
Iv pH value 4.4 – 8.5 ISO 6588-1  
v Moisture content, % 4.0 – 7.0 ISO 287 
vi Softness, Nm, max. 
 Virgin  
 Blended 
 Recycled  
170 
400 
150 Annex A 
 
vii Brightness of white paper, % , 
min. 80 ISO 12625-7 
Viii Number of sheets per rolla Minimum of 100 sheets in increasing multiples of 
50 Physical count 
aThe tolerance for the  number of sheets shall not be less than the no minal declared number by 1% sheet  
 
 DUS 126: 2019  
© UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved  5 
 Table 3 — Specific requirements for toilet paper of three ply an d above 
S/
No
. Property Requirement Test method 
I 
Grammage, 
g/m2    per ply 
 Virgin tissue  13-19 ISO 12625-6 
Blended tissue 15-19 
Recycled tissue 15-19 
Ii Tensile 
strength, N/m 
of width, min. 
 MD 
 Virgin tissue  120-275  
 
ISO 12625-4 Blended tissue 100 to 250 
Recycled 
tissue 100 to250 
CD Virgin tissue 40 to 100 
Blended tissue 30 to 80 
Recycled 
tissue 30 to 80 
Average 
of both 
directions Virgin tiss ue 80 to 175 
Blended tissue 65 to 165 
Recycled 
tissue 65 to 165 
Iii Water absorptiveness, g/m2, min. 20 ISO 12625-8 
Iv pH value 4.4 – 8.5 ISO 6588-1 
V Moisture content, % 4.0 – 7.0 ISO 287 
Vi Softness, Nm, max. 
 Virgin 
 Blended 
 Recycled - 
170 
400 
150 Annex A 
 
Vii Brightness of white paper, %, min. 80 ISO 12625-7 
Viii Number of sheets per rolla Minimum of 100 sheets in increasing 
multiples of 50 Physical count 
aThe tolerance for the  number of sheets shall not be less than the no minal declared number by 1% sheet  
 
 
4.2.2  Toilet paper shall comply with microbiological requirements in Table 3 wh en tested in 
accordance with the method specified therein. 
Table 3 — Microbiological limits for toilet paper 
S/No. Characteristic Limit Test method 
I Total plate count, cfu/g max. 300 
ISO 8784-1 Ii Pseudomonas aeruginosa  ,cfu/g   DUS 126: 2019  
6 © UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved 
 Iii Staphylococcus aureus,  cfu/g  Not detectable in 1 g of 
the product Iv Candida albicans , cfu/g  
V Escherichia coli ,  cfu/g  
 
4.2.3  The dimensional requirements shall be as shown in Table 4 when tested i n accordance with the 
method specified therein. 
Table 4 — Requirements for dimensions 
S/No. Characteristic Requirement, 
mm Tolerance, 
mm Test method 
I Internal diameter  of the core 40  5  
ISO 11093-7 Ii Length of core 100  1 
Iii Length of each sheet 125  3 
 
4.2.4 The minimum length of the roll of toilet paper with 100,150 and 200 shal l be 12 m, 18 m or 24 m 
respectively for the corresponding number of sheets. 
4.2.5  The average number of holes less than 2 mm in diameter in sheets shall not exceed 10 per sheet. 
5 Construction 
5.1 General 
5.1.1  The toilet paper in rolls shall comprise a long, single or multi-ply toi let paper evenly and firmly wound 
on a stiff cylindrical tubular core. 
5.1.2  The width of the wound paper shall be equal to the length of the core. 
5.1.3  During winding, the paper shall be kept stretched to prevent formation of creases. 
5.1.4  The toilet roll shall be perforated across the full width along the length of the roll. The perforation 
shall be such that they are in line for both plies and each sheet could be read ily torn off along the perforations 
without causing damage to itself or to the neighbouring sheet. 
5.1.5  The toilet roll may be plain, creped or embossed. 
5.2 Rolls 
Rolls of paper shall be constructed in a manner that 
a) paper shall be evenly and firmly wound on cylindrical core, 
b) the number of malformed sheets at the core end of a roll shall not exceed five, 
c) the sides of each roll shall be neatly cut, and 
d) the sheet shall be severed along row of perforations and the tear shall be manifestl y due to the 
perforations alone. DUS 126: 2019  
© UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved  7 
 6.2 Wrapping 
6.2.1  Individually wrapped toilet paper   
The toilet paper rolls shall be individually wrapped. 
6.2.2  Group wrapped toilet paper 
A maximum of 4 rolls shall be contained. Wrapping of more than 4 rolls, the rolls shall be individually wrapped. 
6.3 Package 
Rolls shall be packed in suitable packages that should not affect the quality of the toilet paper during handling, 
transportation and storage. 
6.4 Labelling  
6.4.1  The following information shall be marked legib ly and indelibly on each wrapper: 
a) name and physical address of the manufacturer/importer/distributor and/or  trade mark  
b) name of the product shall appear as "Toilet paper"; 
c) colour(s) of the toilet paper; 
d) description of fibre composition shall appear as “virgin ”, “blended ” or “recycled ”; 
e) indicate number of ply; 
f) length of the roll; 
g) batch number/code (optional ); 
h) number of sheets of each roll; 
i) country of origin/manufacture; 
7 Sampling 
7.1 General 
The sampling shall be done in accordance with the procedure in 7.2 in determining whe ther a lot complies 
with the relevant requirements of the specification. The samples so taken shall b e deemed to represent the lot 
for the respective properties. 
7.2 Sample for toilet paper 
Samples shall be drawn at random as indicated in Tab le 5 and tested for compliance with the requirements of this 
standard. DUS 126: 2019  
8 © UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved 
 Table 5 — Sampling of bulk packages 
 
Lot size Sample size 
Number of rolls 
5 – 99 5  
100 – 399 10  
400  or more 20  
 
7.3 Conditioning of test specimens 
Test samples shall be conditioned in accordance to ISO 187. 
NOTE The requirement of this clause does not apply to the test of m oisture content.  
 DUS 126: 2019  
© UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved  9 
 Annex A  
(normative) 
 
Determination of softness 
A.1 Apparatus 
An instrument that measures the combination of resistance due to surface friction  and flexural rigidity of sheet 
material when forced by a blade through a slot that has parallel edges and a width of 6.35 mm  
A.2 Test specimens 
From the rolls taken in accordance with Table 4 of 7.2, cut at random 20 tes t specimens (that is, 10 pairs) 
each of size 100 mm  100 mm with the adjacent edges parallel to the machine and cross directions 
respectively. 
A.3 Procedure 
A.3.1  Place a pair of the specimens next to each other and centrally over the slot with their cross directions 
parallel to the slot. 
A.3.2  Start the blade mechanism and record the maximum reading. Turn the two specimens through 90 
so that their machine directions: are parallel to the slot. Again record the maximum reading . 
A.3.3  Repeat the procedure on the remaining nine pairs of specimens ensuring that equal n umber of tests 
are performed on each side of the paper. 
A.3.4  Calculate and report to three significant figures the average of all readings i n milliNewtons as the 
softness of the paper. DUS 126: 2019  
10 © UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved 
 Bibliography 
[1] EAS 355: 2004, Toilet paper — Specification (1st Edition)  
 DUS 126: 2019  
© UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved  11 
 Certification marking 
Products that conform to Uganda standards may be marked with Uganda National Bureau of S tandards 
(UNBS) Certification Mark shown in the figure below.  
The use of the UNBS Certification Mark is governed by the Standards Act, and the  Regulations made 
thereunder. This mark can be used only by those licensed under the certificatio n mark scheme operated by 
the Uganda National Bureau of Standards and in conjunction with the relevant Ugan da Standard. The 
presence of this mark on a product or in relation to a product is an assurance that the goods compl y with the 
requirements of that standard under a system of supervision, control and testing in accordance with the 
certification mark scheme of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards. UNBS marked products are 
continually checked by UNBS for conformity to that standard.  
Further particulars of the terms and conditions of licensing may be obtained fro m the Director, Uganda 
National Bureau of Standards.  
 
 DUS 126: 2019    
 
ICS 85.080.20 
Price based on nn pages 
© UNBS 2019 – All rights reserved