10 Most Commonly Used Products In The World

The 10 most commonly used products in the world are a collection of items that virtually none of us can live without. No matter where one goes in the world, the majority of these products will be found there and will be just as vital to the locals’ lives.

Something that became glaring to us upon researching this topic is that many of the 10 most commonly used products in the world are extremely wasteful to the environment. Given the rapid nature with which they’re used and discarded, these ten products alone are creating mounds of waste from the products themselves as well as from their packaging.

One of the worst offenders is disposable razors, of which about 2 billion are chucked annually in the U.S alone. Despite the existence of razors with disposable blades (less wasteful) and electric shavers, 2 billion razors and their packaging are still being used and tossed aside. Anyone interested in lowering their ecological footprint would do well to start with these items and see where they may be able to make some positive changes to their wastefulness.

Note that this list of the 10 most commonly used products in the world is restricted only to non-durable goods, or consumables, and does not represent a list of the best selling products in the world or the best selling products of all time, or of the products that are necessarily used the most, such as smartphones. Nor does it have the #1 selling product in the world, which is probably coke, which sells about 1.8 billion servings per day. For lists more in that vein, be sure to check out our popular articles on the 10 Best Selling Consumer Products in the World and the 10 Best Selling Consumer Products in the USA.

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The consumer non-durables sector is one of the most durable (pardon the pun) on the market, given the necessity of non-durables products. Unlike the durables sector (electronics, jewelry, sporting equipment, and the like), which may suffer during an economic downturn when consumers have less disposable income to spend, non-durables tend to remain strong.

Some of the biggest names in the consumer non-durables sector that have some of the best selling consumer products in the world are Energizer Holdings Inc (NYSE:ENR), Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL), Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG), and Edgewell Personal Care Co (NYSE:EPC).

To compile the list of the 10 most commonly used products in the world, we referenced various sources, including Amazon, AliExpress, Global Sources, and others. Head to the next page to begin the countdown.

10. Bar Soap

Kicking off our list of the 10 most commonly used products in the world is bar soap, which is actually more eco-friendly than the alternative, liquid soap. Yet while it’s still used in 84% of U.S households, that figure is down from 89% in 2010. The younger generation tends to view bar soap with distaste, believing it’s less convenient and potentially unhealthy. Where bar soap isn’t slipping in usage is at hotels, as U.S hotels alone go through over 90 million bars of soap per year. Unilever plc (ADR) (NYSE:UL)‘s Dove is the dominant brand in bar soap, with 24% market share.

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9. Razors

As mentioned in the opening, as many as 2 billion razors are thrown away each year in just the U.S alone, or about six razors for every citizen. While that number surely isn’t as high on a global scale, it’s safe to assume that at least 10 billion disposable razors are purchased and thrown away annually. Gillette, owned by Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG), produces many of the top disposable razor brands in the world.

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8. Batteries

Batteries outsell razors by about 50% in the U.S, as about 3 billion are used and discarded annually in the country. Despite the existence of rechargeable batteries, single-use batteries are still doing big business. Energizer Holdings Inc (NYSE:ENR)‘s Energizer Max did $573.3 million in U.S sales last year, finishing second to Duracell’s Coppertop brand, which pulled in over $868 million in sales. Duracell, owned by Warren Buffett‘s Berkshire Hathaway, and Energizer each had two other brands in the top 10 in U.S sales.

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7. Toothpaste

Toothpaste is big business, being projected to reach $14 billion by 2020. With the average tube of toothpaste running for no more than a few bucks, that’s billions of tubes being sold annually. Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG)’s Crest is the leading toothpaste brand, with Crest 3D White being the top selling toothpaste in the U.S so far in 2017, with $236.8 million in sales. Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) has a number of popular brands as well, including Colgate Total.

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6. Paper Towels

In the U.S alone, 13 billion pounds of paper towels are used annually, which is a heck of a lot considering they don’t weigh much. These all end up in landfills as well, given that they can’t be recycled, which is partly why paper products make up 40% of the waste in landfills. Bounty and Scott are two of the leading paper towel brands in the U.S.

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5. Chopsticks

While chopsticks aren’t as commonly used in the west, Asia is using enough of them for the entire world and then some. The statistics related to chopstick usage are pretty staggering, with China producing as many as 80 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks annually, which requires the felling of millions of trees. Needless to say, the country’s forests are being decimated by the practice, and Chinese officials are aware of the fact that using other forms of eating utensils will need to be popularized, and soon.

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4. Toilet Paper

A study by Charmin, owned by Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG), came to the conclusion that Americans use about 59 rolls of toilet paper per year on average, which would amount to 400 billion rolls when extrapolated to the global populace. While the global amount is probably less than half that, we nonetheless use a lot of toilet paper. While there hasn’t been much innovation on the toilet paper front over the years, wipes that can be used instead of, or in combination with, toilet paper have begun to catch on in Europe and other regions.

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3. Disposable Dishes

The amount of disposable paper and plastic cups, plates, and containers that are being used each year is mind-blowing. It’s estimated that over 400 billion disposable containers are used each year, the majority of which can’t be recycled. Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) accounts for about 1% of that total, with 4 billion of the company’s to-go cups being tossed annually. Starbucks is trying to develop a fully-recyclable cup, as though its cups are primarily paper, they are also lined with plastic. Over 66% of Americans reported using disposable dishes in 2016.

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2. Garbage/Plastic Bags

As many as 5 trillion garbage and plastic bags will be produced this year, with the average American going through 1,500 of them annually. That means every American uses the equivalent of about 4 1/2 bags per day. Only 1% of these bags are recycled, while about 10% of them end up in the oceans, where they are threatening marine life and the entire planet’s ecosystem. Reusable shopping bags are helping cut down on some of the overuse, but clearly not even close to enough.

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1. Paper

Was there any doubt that paper would top the list of the 10 most commonly used products in the world? Just wrap your head around the fact that U.S offices alone use a mind-boggling 12.1 trillion sheets of paper a year. That’s just offices, in one country. Needless to say, our paper use is off the charts, with North America using more than 500 pounds of paper per person annually and about 30 billion tons of paper being used globally each year.

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That wraps up the list of the 10 most commonly used products in the world. How many of these products get regular use at your house? Which brands are your favorite? Share your thoughts with our readers in the comments.

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