Product type | Facial Tissue |
---|---|
Owner | Kimberly-Clark |
Country | United States |
Introduced | June 12, 1924 |
Markets | Worldwide except Canada |
Previous owners | International Cellucotton Products Company |
Registered as a trademark in | USA |
Website | https://kleenex.com |
Kleenex is a brand name primarily known for their line of facial tissues. Often used informally as a genericized trademark for facial tissue, [1] [2] Kleenex is a registered trademark of Kimberly-Clark applied to products made in 78 countries.[ citation needed ] The brand has other paper products like napkins and toilet roll.
Kleenex began during the First World War when the Cellucotton company developed a crepe paper gas mask filter. In the 1920s, the product was modified into the menstrual pad Kotex. A further modification of the original crepe paper made it thinner and softer, and the resultant 1924 product was called "Kleenex" and marketed as a cold cream remover. [3] In line with the company's requirements for their brand names to be short, easy to say, and easy to explain, the name Kleenex was selected as the "Kleen" portion of the name denotes its cleansing purpose with a sensational spelling of the word "clean". The "ex" was added to show that Kleenex was of the family of products that included Kotex. This was the first marketing of a disposable paper-based facial tissue in the western world, and was sold as a substitute for face towels or cotton wool.[ citation needed ]
In 1925, the first Kleenex tissue ad was used in magazines showing "the new secret of keeping a pretty skin as used by famous movie stars". A few years after the introduction of Kleenex, the Cellucotton's head researcher tried to persuade the head of advertising to try to market the tissue for colds and hay fever. The administrator declined the idea but then committed a small amount of ad space to mention of using Kleenex tissue as a handkerchief. By the 1930s, Kleenex was being marketed with the slogan "Don't Carry a Cold in Your Pocket" and its use as a disposable handkerchief replacement became predominant. [4] In 1943, Kleenex began licensing the Little Lulu cartoon character to popularize the brand. [5]
The original Kleenex trademark application at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) was filed in the class of Medical, Beauty, & Agricultural Services by Cellucotton Products Company of Neenah, Wisconsin, on July 12, 1924. The description provided to the USPTO was "absorbent pads or sheets for removing cold cream". [6]
In the application, Cellucotton claimed that it had used the drawing and stylized word mark in commerce since June 12, 1924. [6] USPTO granted trademark registration on November 25, 1924. International Cellucotton Products Company officially assigned trademark interest and good will of the business to Kimberly-Clark Corporation on September 30, 1955. Kimberly-Clark Corporation of Neenah, Wisconsin is the current registered owner of the Kleenex trademark. [7]
Nationwide marketing in the United states of Kleenex (as a means of removing cold cream rather than as a tissue for sneezes) was rolled out in the first week of September 1924 in Chicago with an ad for the Walgreen drug store chain on September 2 [8] and with an offer on September 4 for a free sample in New York City [9]
In the U.S., the Kleenex name has become—in common usage but not in law—genericized. The popularity of the product has led to the use of its name to refer to any facial tissue, regardless of the brand. [10] Many dictionaries, including Merriam-Webster and Oxford, now include definitions in their publications defining it as such. [11] [12]
In 2023 Kimberly-Clark announced that it would no longer be selling the brand in Canada, citing transportation costs. It had a 16 percent market share at the time, but the cost of shipping meant profitability was low. [13]
In 1978, Kimberly-Clark introduced Kleenex Super Dry diapers with wetness indicators in the form of a design that fades and lightens as the inside of the diaper becomes wetter. The Huggies brand, introduced in 1977, is the current brand of diaper products for Kimberly-Clark.[ citation needed ]
Band-Aid is a brand of adhesive bandages distributed by the consumer health company Kenvue, spun off from Johnson & Johnson in 2023. Invented in 1920, the brand has become a generic term for adhesive bandages in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, the Philippines, and others.
Kimberly-Clark Corporation is an American multinational consumer goods and personal care corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. The company manufactures sanitary paper products and surgical & medical instruments. Kimberly-Clark brand name products include Kleenex facial tissue, Kotex feminine hygiene products, Cottonelle, Scott and Andrex toilet paper, Wypall utility wipes, KimWipes scientific cleaning wipes and Huggies disposable diapers and baby wipes.
The Scott Paper Company was a manufacturer and marketer of sanitary tissue products with operations in 22 countries. Its products were sold under a variety of well-known brand names, including Scott Tissue, Cottonelle, Baby Fresh, Scottex and Viva. Consolidated sales of its consumer and commercial products totalled approximately $3.6 billion in 1994.
A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products or services, usually against the intentions of the trademark's owner.
Kotex is an American brand of menstrual hygiene products, which includes the Kotex maxi, thin and ultra-thin pads, the Security tampons, and the Lightdays pantiliners. Most recently, the company has added U by Kotex to its menstrual hygiene product line. Kotex is owned and managed by Kimberly-Clark, a consumer products corporation active in more than 80 countries.
Pampers is an American brand for babies and toddlers products marketed by Procter & Gamble. This includes diapers, wipes and etc.
Huggies is an American company that sells disposable diapers and baby wipes that is marketed by Kimberly-Clark. Huggies were first test marketed in 1968, then introduced to the public in 1977 to replace the Kimbies brand.
Tissue paper or simply tissue is a lightweight paper or light crêpe paper. Tissue can be made from recycled paper pulp on a paper machine.
Goodnites are diapers designed for managing bedwetting. Goodnites are produced by Kimberly-Clark. The product has also been seen titled as Huggies Goodnites on official Huggies branded webpages.
Facial tissue and paper handkerchief refers to a class of soft, absorbent, disposable papers that are suitable for use on the face. They are disposable alternatives for cloth handkerchiefs. The terms are commonly used to refer to the type of paper tissue, usually sold in boxes, that is designed to facilitate the expulsion of nasal mucus from the nose (nose-blowing) although it may refer to other types of facial tissues such as napkins and wipes.
Carefree is an American brand of pantyliners from Johnson & Johnson. In the US, the Carefree brand was formerly marketed by McNeil-PPC and currently being marketed by Edgewell Personal Care.
Scotties is a facial tissue brand originally owned by the Scott Paper Company, created in 1955.
Andrex is a British brand of toilet roll. It is owned by the American company Kimberly-Clark. The "Andrex Puppy", a Labrador Retriever puppy that appears on the company's television advertisements, is synonymous with the brand.
The Story of Menstruation is a 1946 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions. It was commissioned by the International Cello-Cotton Company and was shown in a non-theatrical release to approximately 105 million American students in health education classes. In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Irving Tissue Company Limited is a tissue products producing company, owned by J.D. Irving Limited. It has manufacturing locations in both Canada and the United States.
Kimberly-Clark de México(KCM) is a Mexican company that engages in the manufacture and commercialization of disposable products for daily use by consumers within and away-from home in Mexico and internationally. The company's products include diapers and childcare products, feminine pads, incontinence care products, bath tissue, napkins, facial tissue, hand and kitchen towels, wet wipes and health care products. Today, the company has 8,000 direct employees and over 10,000 indirect jobs.
A wetness indicator is a common feature in many disposable diapers and toilet training pants. It is a feature that reacts to exposure of liquid as a way to discourage the wearer to urinate in the training pants, or as an indicator to a caregiver that a diaper needs changing.
Ernst Mahler was an Austrian chemist and leader of the Kimberly-Clark Corporation in Wisconsin. Mahler developed, refined, and commercialized various popular products and processes of papermaking. He was also instrumental in the foundation of the Institute of Paper Science and Technology (IPST) as well as the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI).
Halyard, formerly Kimberly-Clark Health Care, now part of Owens & Minor, sells sterilization wrap, facial protection, gloves, protective apparel, surgical drapes and gowns in more than 100 countries.
Depend is a Kimberly-Clark brand of absorbent, disposable undergarments for people with urinary or fecal incontinence. It positions its products as an alternative to typical adult diapers. Depend is the dominant brand of disposable incontinence garments in the United States with a 49.4 share of the market.