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The Ebola virus is certainly a tragic development. It has the potential to be much worse than the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak of 2002-2004. However, the SARS outbreak set in motion a change in conditions that has stayed with society ever since. That change was the now ubiquitous presence of hand cleaner in almost every public environment. This is being reinforced each year in the cold and flu season. What was a novelty ten years ago is something we look for everywhere now and find it noticeable by its absence, not presence.

In the 1920s, as indoor bathrooms with running water came into vogue in the United States, shampoo and soap manufacturers converted the population from the tradition of the Saturday night bath to daily bathing. This was pretty clever--a sevenfold increase in product consumption overnight. Today, we think of the daily bath or shower as standard, in fact, we don't think about it at all.

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Today we have Ebola. If you don't think this is going to spread widely and rapidly, I have a bridge to sell you in New York. As long as Ebola remains a contact-transmitted (not airborne) virus, the pulp and paper industry has an opportunity to help contain this disease.

Think of all the surfaces in public places. Tables and chairs in restaurants. Think of airplanes (on second thought, don't think of airplanes--flying Petri dishes). Right now, you are probably envisioning everything covered with butcher paper or drapes that look like public toilet seat covers. Not a pretty sight, indeed. However, clever packaging designers should be able to bring refinement and style to this problem.

Here is the key--some sort of barrier product designed with paper as a significant component should be able to make surface hygiene possible. The beauty of this, from an industry standpoint, is that such product(s) will be in demand by the boatload. How many times a day does a domestic plane discharge and pick up passengers? Three? Five? Think of all those surfaces needing a fresh covering over and over.

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This is how business opportunities are built. See a need, develop a product, then roll it out. In the first half of the twentieth century, the pulp and paper industry did a great job of this. That is if you consider "this" meaning new products created from nothing. In the second half of the twentieth century, the industry seemed to retreat to the microscope. In other words, the industry took existing products and made them better by examining their structure closely--stronger and softer bath tissue; more absorbent kitchen toweling; better coatings for printing and writing grades.

Since the arrival of the Internet, we have seemed to be shell-shocked. Innovations are tinier, more incremental. It is as if we have lost our way and lost our drive.

A sad situation like Ebola cries out for help, not only in developed countries, but in third world countries, too. Just perhaps this is our chance to provide a great service and generate new business at the same time. Paper and pulp containing products just seem to be perfectly adapted to creating barrier surfaces.

What do you think? Any ideas for paper related products that could help contain the Ebola contagion? Take our quiz here.

For safety this week, we have been aware and taking precautions for a long time when it comes to body fluid borne pathogens. Time to brush up on your training, perhaps.

Be safe and we will talk next week.

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