The existential fight for survival that is warfare can be the mother of invention. In the UK we consume around 1.25 million tonnes of paper tissue a year, the paper tissue being handier and probably more hygienic to use than a linen handkerchief. They owe their origin to the First World War.
With shortages of raw materials, the Kimberley-Clark company, founded in 1872 to produce and sell high-quality writing paper and paper for newspapers, invented a material called “cellucotton”, which was used initially to line gas masks with instead of cotton which was needed for field dressings and bandages. The key to cellucotton was the creping process, in which paper was micro-folded during the production process. This broke down the rigidity of the paper and increased its volume, making it softer and more absorbent.
After the war had ended, Kimberley-Clark looked for a commercial application for their new material and came up with a sanitary pad, Kotex. By layering several sheets of tissue, they developed a soft pillow with much greater absorbency than the traditional cotton wool.
In 1924 they launched a facial tissue, which was advertised as a make-up remover used by famous cinema stars of the time. However, its seems that the public saw a wider application for this new tissue than the company manufacturing it had, many apparently writing to Kimberley-Clark suggesting its use against colds and flu. Seeing which way the wind was blowing, the company launched a major re-brand and Kleenex, advertised with the slogan “Don’t put a cold in your pocket” was born.
The name Kleenex is as synonymous with paper tissues today as is Hoover with vacuum cleaners.
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