Auburn fans only have two good uses for toilet paper, and it isn't out of the ordinary for them to grab some of the white stuff to wear around their necks after victories.
But thanks to alumna Jen Buckert, anyone can look as if they've been rolled after a win all winter long by wearing a Toomers Rolls scarf.
Buckert, 28, works for Coca-Cola Co. in Atlanta. She came up with the idea for the scarves after attending the SEC championship last year. She noticed after the game that fans were covered in toilet paper.
"It was such a great sight," Buckert said. "To see them all in toilet paper was just so funny, and immediately I thought to myself, 'Oh, my gosh! I can do something like that. I can commercialize a scarf that looks just like that.'"
When customers see the scarves, their responses are usually the same.
"The most common reaction I get is, 'Oh, my God, I love this idea! I wish I came up with it first,'" Buckert said.
When Buckert began business school in January she turned to her friend, Clement Mardon, a Georgia Tech grad who wasn't familiar with the tradition.
"At first I was like, 'Toilet paper, huh?'" Mardon said. "'Is that going to work?'"
After Buckert explained what it meant to her school, however, Mardon said he thought it was a great idea.
"Especially when the trees were poisoned--I mean we started before that--but this is a neat way to kind of preserve the tradition for Toomer's," Mardon said.
Over the course of nine months the two researched fabrics and learned sewing techniques.
They made patches and designed numerous logos until deciding on the name Toomers Rolls. After signing a licensing agreement to use the Toomers name, they began production.
The price of a scarf is also homage to Auburn. For $17.16, the score of the Dec. 2, 1972, Iron Bowl, the scarf can be bought online or in stores.
Proceeds will benefit the Toomers Foundation.
Local retailers like Wrapsody and Big Blue Bookstore are already carrying Toomers Rolls.Big Blue store manager Terry Holdridge said he discovered the scarves online and contacted Toomers Rolls because he thought it was a neat idea.
The store began carrying Toomers Rolls Friday, Holdridge said, and customers were already picking them up.
"They love it," Holdridge said. "It's truly Auburn. I mean, it's uniquely Auburn. It's one of the traditions."
Buckert and Mardon are loving the response so far.
Mardon said people as far away as South Africa and Europe have visited the website and ordered a scarf, but personally selling them in Auburn is special.
"People come up to us and they love the product, so that's great," Mardon said. "It's been nice coming to Auburn and seeing all the tailgating and people having fun all day."
Buckert said she thinks people appreciate her idea since the trees were poisoned.
"I think we're just such a greater appeal now," Buckert said. "Which, you know, we wish that we could roll Toomer's Corner forever, but if we can't we can still let the tradition live on through the Toomers Rolls scarves."
Mardon and Buckert don't know if they will make any more collegiate-themed gifts in the future, but for now they are enjoying the experience of selling the scarves.
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