Durex

{{short description|British condom brand}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}

{{infobox brand

| name = Durex

| logo = New Logo Durex.svg

| logo_size = 260px

| image =

| caption =

| type =

| currentowner = Reckitt Benckiser

| origin = United Kingdom

| introduced = {{start date and age|1915}} (as London Rubber Company)

| discontinued =

| related =

| markets =

| previousowners = SSL International

| trademarkregistrations =

| ambassadors =

| tagline =

| website = {{URL|https://durex.com/}}

}}

File:Condom box durex.jpg

Durex is a British brand of condoms and personal lubricants owned by Reckitt Benckiser and currently led by Ben Wilson.{{cite news |last1=Elmhirst |first1=Sophie |author-link=Sophie Elmhirst |title='People are like, Wow!': the man trying to make condoms sexy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jun/27/man-who-wants-to-make-condoms-sexy-durex |access-date=11 February 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=27 June 2023}} It was initially developed in London under the purview of the London Rubber Company and British Latex Products Ltd, where it was manufactured between 1932 and 1994.{{Cite book|last=Borge|first=Jessica|url=https://www.mqup.ca/protective-practices-products-9780228003335.php?page_id=73&|title=Protective practices : A history of the London Rubber Company and the condom business|publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press|others=Foreword by Lesley A. Hall.|year=2020|isbn=978-0-2280-0333-5|location=Montreal|pages=32–88|oclc=1143645992|access-date=9 November 2020|archive-date=15 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115191209/https://www.mqup.ca/protective-practices-products-9780228003335.php?page_id=73&|url-status=live}}{{cite web|date=August 2020|title=Protective Practices: The London Rubber Company and Condoms|url=https://londonrubbercompany.com/|access-date=9 November 2020|website=londonrubbercompany.com|archive-date=5 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105120222/https://londonrubbercompany.com/|url-status=live}} The London Rubber Company was formed in 1915, and the Durex brand name ("Durability, reliability, and excellence") was launched in 1929, although London Rubber did not begin manufacturing own-brand condoms until 1932, in collaboration with a rubber technology student from Poland named Lucian Lundau.{{Cite web|last=Borge|first=Jessica|date=11 February 2021|title=Durex condoms: how their teenage immigrant inventor was forgotten by history|url=https://theconversation.com/durex-condoms-how-their-teenage-immigrant-inventor-was-forgotten-by-history-152497|url-status=live|access-date=18 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211125032/https://theconversation.com/durex-condoms-how-their-teenage-immigrant-inventor-was-forgotten-by-history-152497 |archive-date=11 February 2021 }} The first book on The London Rubber Company and the history of Durex condoms, written by Jessica Borge, was published in September 2020 by McGill-Queen's University Press.

The London Rubber Company later merged with SSL International, and has since 2010 been owned by the Anglo-Dutch company Reckitt Benckiser. It is one of the best-selling condom brands around the world, with 30% of the global market.{{cite news |title=New Chapter in the 81-year History of Durex |work=BBC News |date=21 July 2010 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-10712088 |access-date=17 April 2018 |archive-date=20 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720052004/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-10712088 |url-status=live }} In 2006, Durex condoms were the second-best-selling brand of condoms in the United States, with Trojan condoms being the first. It is supplied by, among others, the company Karex.{{cite web |title=What's the best-selling condom in America? |work=By Brendan I. Koerner – Slate Magazine |date=29 September 2006 |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2150552/ |access-date=29 September 2008 |archive-date=9 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109065741/http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/number_1/2006/09/the_other_trojan_war.html |url-status=live }}

In 2007, the last factory making Durex condoms in the UK stopped manufacturing and production has since moved to China, India and Thailand. The modern range includes a wide variety of latex condom, including the Sheik and Ramses brands in North America,{{cite web |title=First plastic condom for men becomes available next year |date=14 October 1993 |url=http://www.popline.org/node/329661 |access-date=29 September 2008 |archive-date=18 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180418032422/https://www.popline.org/node/329661 |url-status=dead }} and the Avanti condom. Durex also provides a range of lubricants and sex toys.

Although Durex was not an official sponsor of the Olympic Games, Durex provided 150,000 free condoms to more than 10,000 athletes that competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.Boyle, Matthew. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120302110142/http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-01/top-secret-durexs-olympic-condoms "Top Secret: Durex's Olympic Condoms"] Bloomberg Businessweek Retrieved on 20 April 2012