ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Tucked away in the corner of washroom hall 11 is a quirky little stand that borders on the bizarre.

Approached via a green archway it boasts a popcorn stall, a fairground amusement game and a "Chamber of Horror".

There is even a "roller coaster" on stand 11.108 - a seat where you can pretend to go on a fairground ride with the aid of a VR headset.

When asked to clarify the link between fairground attractions and paper products, marketing manager of Huchtemeier Papier Manuel Radtke admits: "There isn't one. We just wanted to do something different and to make the stand fun."

And fun it certainly is, though the Chamber of Horror was a little disappointing since it was simply the place where the stand crew keep their coats. But there were actual prizes to be won in the fairground game -though most of them were socks bearing pictures of toilet rolls.

However, Huchtemeier Papier has an impressive story. The German-based family firm claims to have spent 125 years developing a fully sustainable brand of toilet rolls, hand towels and kitchen rolls.

All products in the company's Green Hygiene range are made from 100 per recycled paper and the packaging is 100 per cent plastic-free. And Huchtemeier offsets its carbon emissions through various forestry projects with ClimatePartner.

The "fun" element emerges in the company's brochure where listings include Rolf, the recycled toilet roll with dreams of being a pure white cellulose product, and Ingeborg, an interfold towel described as "29 years old, was once a concert ticket". But our favourite was "Karla, 36, a kitchen roll that has already had an impressive career as a napkin in a small French bistro on the Champs-Elysees."