kleenex

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.{{cite web |title=The Kleenex Story |url=https://www.kleenex.co.uk/history/ |website=Kleenex Official Site |access-date=February 14, 2023 |archive-date=October 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010082217/https://www.kleenex.co.uk/history/ |url-status=live }} 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.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.kleenex.com/NA/About/Brand-Story.aspx |title=Kleenex Brand Story |publisher=Kleenex.com |access-date=June 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527181048/http://www.kleenex.com/NA/About/Brand-Story.aspx |archive-date=May 27, 2010 |url-status=dead }} In 1943, Kleenex began licensing the Little Lulu cartoon character to popularize the brand.{{Cite web |url=http://cartoonician.com/marge-and-lulu-the-art-of-the-deal/ |title="Marge and Lulu: The Art of the Deal," Jennifer Gotwals, Hogan's Alley #15, 2007 |access-date=March 13, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501001717/http://cartoonician.com/marge-and-lulu-the-art-of-the-deal |archive-date=May 1, 2013 |url-status=dead }}

File:Kleenex old.svg

File:Original Kleenex-mark1925-trademarkia.jpegThe 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".[https://books.google.com/books?id=Zjfajqia84kC&dq=Kleenex+1924&pg=PA40 Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office], September 2, 1924, p.40 ("Ser. No. 199,932... Filed July 12, 1924... Claims was since June 12, 1924")

In the application, Cellucotton claimed that it had used the drawing and stylized word mark in commerce since June 12, 1924. 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.{{Cite web |url=http://tess2.uspto.gov/ |title=United States Patent and Trademark Office, registration #s 0019194;0022859;0029753;0038458;0408618 |date=June 12, 1924 |access-date=June 25, 2010 |archive-date=December 9, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021209131415/http://tess2.uspto.gov/ |url-status=live }}

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 Chicago Daily Tribune, September 2, 1924, p.13 ("A soft, velvety tissue for removing cold cream from the face. It is safe, sanitary and inexpensive. Use it once and throw it away.") and with an offer on September 4 for a free sample in New York City Daily News (New York City), September 4, 1924, p.21 ("This new way removes cold cream safely... Adopted by famous actresses, advised by beauty doctors and skin experts."

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.genericides.org/trademark/kleenex |title=Has kleenex become a generic trademark? |access-date=February 17, 2021 |website=genericides.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020172209/https://www.genericides.org/trademark/kleenex |archive-date=October 20, 2021}} Many dictionaries, including Merriam-Webster and Oxford, now include definitions in their publications defining it as such.{{cite web |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/kleenex|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015162454/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/kleenex |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 15, 2017 |title=Kleenex |access-date=April 9, 2018}}{{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Kleenex/ |title=Kleenex |access-date=April 9, 2018 |archive-date=July 9, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709062907/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Kleenex |url-status=live }}

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.{{cite news |last1=Evans |first1=Pete |title=What a blow! Kleenex pulling out of Canadian consumer market |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/kleenex-canada-1.6947410 |access-date=25 July 2024 |work=CBC News |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |date=25 August 2023}}

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.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

• Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex

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• {{cite book |title=Kotex, Kleenex, Huggies |last1=Henrich |first1=Thomas |last2=Batchelor |first2=Bob |publisher=Ohio State University Press |year=2004 |isbn=0814209769}}

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• [https://www.kleenex.com/en-us/ Official website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080501162425/http://www.kleenex.com/NA/About/Through-The-Decades.aspx Kleenex History Timeline]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304045910/http://graphic-design.tjs-labs.com/gallery-view?product=KLEENEX Gallery of vintage graphic design featuring Kleenex tissues]

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Category:Products introduced in 1924

Category:Brands that became generic

Category:Kimberly-Clark brands

Category:Paper products

Category:Personal care brands