cotton substitute improves women's lives Disposable feminine sanitary pads story With World War I raging in Europe and provoking cotton Kotex pads were K-C's first shortages, Kimberly-Clark executives realized that the consumer product, and they Cellucotton developed by their researchers were nothing short of could be used as a cotton substitute for a revolutionary. Made from 40 variety of purposes. Ernst Mahler, head of plies of absorbent creped the research, technical and engineering cellulose wadding shaped department, traveled to Washington D.C. in a rectangle and wrapped to convince the U.S. surgeon general that by hand in gauze, those its new product Cellucotton would be an first napkins were bulky by ideal substitute for surgical cotton dressing today's standard, but they in treating war wounds. K-C researchers performed very well. For 60 cents, customers received 12 had discovered that Cellucotton, creped napkins packaged in a "hospital blue" box. cellulose wadding found on a fact-finding mission to Europe and later refined by K-C Breaking Down Barriers researchers, was five times more absorbent than cotton and, Now it was time to tell the world about Kotex. Society's prim when mass produced, could cost half as much. attitudes at the time regarding the subject of menstruation created a barrier that K-C executives had to break down to be Nurses Discover New Use for Bandages successful. One publication after Mahler was successful in his presentation. After the U.S. another refused to accept entered the war in 1917, K-C produced wadding for surgical advertising for Kotex pads until, dressing for the government and the Red Cross at the rate of finally, after much discussion on the 380 to 500 feet per minute. Red Cross nurses were using the appropriateness of copy, the new material as sanitary pads during their menstrual periods. Ladies Home Journal agreed to Until then, "American women wore a diaper of bird's-eye or run an ad. It featured a picture of outing flannel, which they were obliged to wash and reuse," a sophisticated woman and was according to the book The Curse, A Cultural History of headlined, "In the wardrobe of Menstruation. Her Royal Daintiness." It was accompanied by copy describing The end of the war in 1918 the product's background and brought about a temporary benefits. suspension of K-C's wadding business because Still, many drug and department its principal customers - stores refused to stock Kotex pads. the army and the Red Sales were disappointing and Cross - no longer had a K-C executives had come to an impasse - should K-C drop need for the product. K-C Kotex pads and write off its investment or keep trying? The repurchased the leaders of K-C decided it was worth the risk to continue to government's war-surplus manufacture and sell the product. Cellucotton and had to figure out what to do with it. After learning of how the nurses created a new use for the product, The Kotex brand, of course, eventually became one of the K-C executives and scientists believed that they could develop greatest success stories in the history of American consumer a viable commercial consumer product for women everywhere. products. Through massive education efforts and innovative advertising campaigns, K-C confronted and broke down K-C Develops Sanitary Napkin society's preconceptions and stereotypes regarding After two years of intensive study, experimentation and market menstruation. testing, the K-C team created a sanitary napkin made from Cellucotton and Evolving to Meet Women's Needs fine gauze, and K-C continues to deliver new in 1920, in a little and improved feminine wooden shed in hygiene products that Neenah, Wis., make women's lives easier female employees through the application of began turning technological advances, out the product the opinions of medical by hand. Kotex experts and key insights (for "cotton gained from our customers, texture") was shoppers and users. To learn introduced to the more about Kotex products, public in October visit www.kotex.com. 1920. .