Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American multinational consumer products company headquartered on

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Aven ...

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The company specializes in the production, distribution, and provision of household, health care, personal care, and

veterinary Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

products.

History and founding

Palmolive soap 1922 advertisement ladies home journal

William Colgate William Colgate (January 25, 1783 – March 25, 1857) was an English-American soap industrialist who founded in 1806 what became the Colgate-Palmolive company. Early life William Colgate was born in Hollingbourne, Kent, England, on January 25, ...

, an English immigrant to America and devout

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul com ...

established a starch, soap, and candle factory on Dutch Street in

under the name William Colgate & Company in 1806. In 1833, he suffered a severe heart attack, stopping his business's sales; after a

convalescence Convalescence is the gradual recovery of health and strength after illness or injury. It refers to the later stage of an infectious disease or illness when the patient recovers and returns to previous health, but may continue to be a source of ...

he continued with his business. In the 1840s, the company began selling individual cakes of soap in uniform weights. In 1857, Colgate died and the company was reorganized as Colgate & Company under the management of his devout Baptist son

Samuel Colgate Samuel Colgate (March 22, 1822 – April 23, 1897), son of William Colgate, was an American manufacturer and philanthropist, born in New York City. When William Colgate died in 1857, Samuel took over the business (he did not want to continue the ...

, who did not want to continue the business but thought it would be the right thing to do. In 1872, he introduced Cashmere Bouquet, a perfumed soap. In 1873, the company introduced its first Colgate Toothpaste, an aromatic toothpaste sold in jars. In 1896, the company sold the first toothpaste in a tube, named Colgate Ribbon Dental Cream (invented by dentist

Washington Sheffield Washington Wentworth Sheffield (April 23, 1827 – November 4, 1897) was an American dental surgeon best known for inventing modern toothpaste. With the help of his son Lucius T. Sheffield, he was also the first to sell the paste in collapsible t ...

). Also in 1896, Colgate hired

Martin Ittner Martin Hill Ittner (May 2, 1870, Berlin Heights, Ohio - April 22, 1945, Jersey City, New Jersey) was a chemist working for Colgate, now known as Colgate-Palmolive. He is best known for his contributions to applied chemistry, including the develop ...

and under his direction founded one of the first applied research labs. By 1908, they initiated mass sales of toothpaste in tubes. Another of William Colgate's sons,

James Boorman Colgate James Boorman Colgate (March 4, 1818 – February 7, 1904), son of William Colgate and Mary Gilbert, was an American financier. Biography He was born in New York City and received his first training in the house of Boorman, Johnston, and Compan ...

, was a primary trustee of

Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologic ...

(formerly Madison University). Palmolive1915

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, Wisconsin, the B. J. Johnson Company was making a soap from

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced fro ...

and

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: ...

, the formula of which was developed by Burdett J. Johnson in 1898. The soap was popular enough to rename their company after it in 1917 — Palmolive. Around the start of the 20th century, Palmolive was the world's best-selling soap.

Advertisement and sponsorship

Extensive advertising included the radio programs '' The Palmolive Hour'' (1927-1931) and ''

Palmolive Beauty Box Theater ''Palmolive Beauty Box Theater'' was an American radio program that featured an operetta or other musical each week from April 24, 1934, to October 6, 1937. It was sponsored by Palmolive soap and produced by Bill Bacher.Dunning, John''On the Ai ...

'' (1934-1937). A

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

-based soap manufacturer known as Peet Brothers, who were originally from Wisconsin, merged with Palmolive to become Palmolive-Peet. In 1928, Palmolive-Peet acquired the Colgate Company to create the Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company. In 1953, Peet was dropped from the name, leaving only Colgate-Palmolive Company, the current name.

Competition with P&G

Colgate-Palmolive has long been in competition with

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...

(P&G), the world's largest

soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are used ...

and

detergent A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with cleansing properties when in dilute solutions. There are a large variety of detergents, a common family being the alkylbenzene sulfonates, which are soap-like compounds that are mor ...

maker. P&G introduced its

Tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables can ...

laundry detergent Laundry detergent is a type of detergent (cleaning agent) used for cleaning dirty laundry (clothes). Laundry detergent is manufactured in powder (washing powder) and liquid form. While powdered and liquid detergents hold roughly equal share o ...

shortly after World War II, and thousands of consumers turned from Colgate's soaps to the new product. Colgate lost its number one place in the

toothpaste Toothpaste is a paste or gel dentifrice used with a toothbrush to clean and maintain the aesthetics and health of teeth. Toothpaste is used to promote oral hygiene: it is an abrasive that aids in removing dental plaque and food from the teeth, a ...

market when P&G added

fluoride Fluoride (). According to this source, is a possible pronunciation in British English. is an inorganic, monatomic anion of fluorine, with the chemical formula (also written ), whose salts are typically white or colorless. Fluoride salts ty ...

to its toothpaste (Colgate has since re-claimed the #1 sales position). In the beginning of TV, Colgate-Palmolive wished to compete with P&G as a sponsor of

soap operas A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored b ...

and sponsored many soaps in full or in part including '' The Doctors''.

George Henry Lesch George Henry Lesch (1909–1994) was the president and CEO of the Colgate-Palmolive company from 1961 to 1974, and was also the chairman of the board of the company from 1961 to 1974. He was featured on the cover of ''Forbes ''Forbes'' () i ...

, president,

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...

, and

chairman of the board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of Colgate-Palmolive in the 1960s and 1970s, transformed the firm into a modern company with major restructuring.

Recent years

In 2005, Colgate sold the under-performing brands Fab, Dynamo, Arctic Power, ABC, Cold Power and Fresh Start, as well as the license of the

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

brand for laundry detergents in the US, Canada and

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, to Phoenix Brands, LLC as part of its plan to focus on their higher margin oral, personal, and pet care products. In 2006, Colgate-Palmolive announced the intended acquisition of

Tom's of Maine Tom's of Maine is a brand name and manufacturing company of natural personal care products. Tom's of Maine has been a majority-owned subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive since 2006. The company's products are sourced and derived from nature, with form ...

, a leading maker of natural toothpaste, for US$100 million. Tom's of Maine was founded by Tom Chappell in 1970. In 2020, Colgate-Palmolive acquired Hello Products LLC, one of the fastest-growing, premium oral care brands in the United States, for an undisclosed amount. Today, Colgate has numerous subsidiary organizations spanning 200 countries, but it is publicly listed in three, the United States, India, and Pakistan. On October 25, 2012, the company announced it would cut 2,310 workers, or 6% of its workforce, by the end of 2016 in a push to make the consumer products company more efficient. The company ranked 184th on the 2018

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by '' Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...

list of the largest United States corporations by revenue. In 2021, the company ranked 15th on the list of Most Trusted Brands by

Morning Consult Morning Consult is a global decision intelligence company established in 2014. It was named one of the fastest growing technology companies in North America by Deloitte in both 2018 and 2019 and was valued at more than one billion dollars in Jun ...

Educational and community involvement

In 1890, Madison University in New York State was renamed

in honor of the Colgate family following decades of financial support and involvement. The Colgate-Palmolive Company has sponsored a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

track meet open to women of all ages called the Colgate Women's Games. The Colgate Women's Games is the nation's largest amateur track series open to all girls from elementary school through college. Held at Brooklyn's

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was founded in 1887 ...

, competitors participate in preliminary meets and semi-finals over five weekends throughout January. Finalists compete for trophies and educational grants-in-aid from Colgate-Palmolive Company at New York City's

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

in February. For more than 20 years, the company supports the Starlight Children Foundation which is a non profit organization dedicated to help seriously ill children and their families. The mission is to help children to cope with pain, fear and isolation through entertainment, family activities and education. In addition the Colgate site has all kinds of resources for children including educational tooth brushing songs and animated videos focused on their well known former animated mascot Dr. Rabbit.

Ethics

In 2011, Colgate-Palmolive was one of the first companies recognized by

PETA Peta or PETA may refer to: Acronym * Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization * People Eating Tasty Animals, a ...

(People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) under the new "working for regulatory change" category for companies that test on animals only when mandated by government regulations and are actively seeking alternatives to animal testing. This relates to the corporation's decision to continue to participate in the profitable Chinese market, where some animal testing is still a regulatory requirement. Other companies have chosen to decline entry to this market. In 2006, Colgate-Palmolive acquired an 84% stake in

. In 2011, the company chose to retain the use of the antibacterial agent

triclosan Triclosan (sometimes abbreviated as TCS) is an antibacterial and antifungal agent present in some consumer products, including toothpaste, soaps, detergents, toys, and surgical cleaning treatments. It is similar in its uses and mechanism of acti ...

in its market-leading Total toothpaste range, despite withdrawing it from several other product ranges, following concerns about triclosan's impact on health and the environment.

Environmental record

In 2019, BreakFreeFromPlastic cited Colgate-Palmolive as one of the world's top ten plastic polluters. Previously, Colgate-Palmolive had committed to 100% recyclability of plastics in packaging across all its product categories by 2025, but made no commitment to reducing the use of virgin plastic in packaging. Some Products of the Colgate-Palmolive company, specifically "Total" brand toothpaste used to contain

, but no longer do. Colgate-Palmolive, as a successor to The Mennen Company, is one of about 300 companies held potentially responsible for

hazardous waste Hazardous waste is waste that has substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. Hazardous waste is a type of dangerous goods. They usually have one or more of the following hazardous traits: ignitability, reactivity, c ...

at the Chemsol federal

Superfund site Superfund sites are polluted locations in the United States requiring a long-term response to clean up hazardous material contaminations. They were designated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA ...

in Piscataway,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Their involvement in this site may have contributed to the

contamination Contamination is the presence of a constituent, impurity, or some other undesirable element that spoils, corrupts, infects, makes unfit, or makes inferior a material, physical body, natural environment, workplace, etc. Types of contamination ...

of an estimated of soil with

volatile organic compounds Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that have a high vapour pressure at room temperature. High vapor pressure correlates with a low boiling point, which relates to the number of the sample's molecules in the surrounding air, a t ...

(VOCs),

PCBs Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds, formerly used in industrial and consumer products, whose production was banned in the United States by the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, Toxic Substances Contro ...

, and

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, l ...

off-site. A proposed $23 million agreement with the government and state of New Jersey would require Colgate-Palmolive and the other involved companies to pay for the cleanup of this hazardous waste that is contaminating the soil as well as the groundwater. Colgate-Palmolive received the 2012 Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention Award.

Corporate governance

Current members of the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of Colgate-Palmolive are: *Noel Wallace *John P. Bilbrey *Lisa M. Edwards *C. Martin Harris *Martina Hund-Mejean *Kimberly A. Nelson *Lorrie M. Norrington *Michael B. Polk * John T. Cahill * Stephen Sadove

Employment diversity

Colgate-Palmolive was named one of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" by ''

Working Mother ''Working Mother'' was a magazine for working mothers launched in 1979 by Founding Publisher Milton Lieberman, who was succeeded by Carol Evans . The founding editor of the magazine was Vivian Cadden, who retired as editor in 1990. Subsequent edi ...

'' magazine. The 2012

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...

"report card" on American businesses gave Colgate an A for its support of diversity in the workplace.

Brands

Colgate now markets a broadly diversified mix of products in the United States and other countries. Major product areas include household and personal care products, food products, health care and industrial supplies, and sports and leisure time equipment. *Afta Lotion *Anthony longlife soap *Anbesol *

Axion An axion () is a hypothetical elementary particle postulated by the Peccei–Quinn theory in 1977 to resolve the strong CP problem in quantum chromodynamics (QCD). If axions exist and have low mass within a specific range, they are of interest ...

*Caprice (shampoo) (Mexico) * Cibaca (India) * Cold Power * Colgate *Colodent (Poland) *Crystal White Octagon *Cuddly (Australia) * Darlie (toothpaste) (Southeast Asia) * Dermassage *Dentagard (toothpaste; Germany) *Dynamo (detergent) * Elmex (toothpaste) *EltaMD (skincare) *Fab (detergent) * Fabuloso *Filorga (cosmetics; France) *Fluffy (Australia) * Fresh Start *Freska-Ra (Mexico) *

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;Hill's Pet Nutrition Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc., marketed simply as "Hill's", is an American pet food company that produces dog and cat foods. The company is a subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive. History Hill's Pet Nutrition was founded in the spring of 1907 by Bur ...

(pet food) *Hurricane (detergent) (Australia) *

Irish Spring Irish Spring is an American brand of deodorant soap that the Colgate-Palmolive company has marketed since 1970. History Irish Spring was launched in Germany in 1970 and in the US in 1972. Up until 1990, Irish Spring soap bars only came in one ...

* Kolynos *La Croix (bleach) France *

Mennen Mennen is a brand owned in most parts of the world by the Colgate-Palmolive Company. Its most notable product, Mennen Speed Stick, with its fougère perfume and green wide stick, was the US market leader among deodorants and antiperspirants for ...

*Meridol (toothpaste) *

Murphy Oil Soap Murphy Oil Soap is an American brand of cleaning product that is manufactured by Colgate-Palmolive. In 1910, Jeremiah Murphy, director of the Phoenix Oil Company, bought the formula for Murphy Oil Soap from a recent immigrant from Germany. The soa ...

*Nifti (detergent) (Australia) * Palmolive *PCA Skin *Profiden (Toothpaste, Spain) *

Protex Protex are a Belfast punk band which formed in 1978. Their first records were issued on Good Vibrations records. They formed part of the first wave of Belfast punk bands along with label-mates The Undertones and Rudi. The original line-up ...

Sanex Sanex is a brand of personal care products owned by Colgate-Palmolive. It is sold in European countries (including United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Greece, Poland, Norway and Croatia) and South Africa. In ...

Science Diet Science Diet is a brand of cat and dog foods marketed by Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. (a subsidiary of the Colgate-Palmolive Company). In the United Kingdom and Europe, Science Diet operates as Science Plan. History Science Diet was developed in ...

* Skin Bracer * Softsoap *Soft As Soap (soap) (Australia) *Softlan (softener) (Southeast Asia) *Soupline (France, Belgium, Greece) * Speed Stick *Spree (detergent) (Australia) * Suavitel (Mexico) *Tahiti (soap) (France, Belgium, Switzerland) *

Teen Spirit (deodorant) Teen Spirit is a deodorant, originally sold by Mennen, then Colgate-Palmolive (after Colgate-Palmolive acquired Mennen in 1992). Teen Spirit was first released by Mennen early in 1991, and with heavy advertising campaigns, it had soon "establish ...

* Tender Care *

Ultra Brite Ultra Brite is an American brand of toothpaste and tooth-whitener marketed by Colgate-Palmolive in the United States. Marketed as a whitening toothpaste, its active ingredients are baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and sodium monofluorophosphate. Col ...

Discontinued products and former brands

* Ajax Laundry Detergent (Ajax Cleanser still made by CP) * Ad (detergent) * Bambeanos * Brisk (fluoride toothpaste) * Burst (detergent) * Cue (fluoride toothpaste) * Cashmere Bouquet (soap) *Cherish (cinnamon flavored toothpaste) * Cold Power (detergent)* (known in Canada as Arctic Power, Australian and New Zealand rights sold to Henkel in May 2015) * Coleo (soap) * Colgate Entrees * Colgate Tooth Powder** and Colgate Chlorophyll Tooth Powder * Colgate Toothpaste with Chlorophyll** * Dynamo laundry detergent (liquid detergent-no longer made by CP in the U.S.) * Fab Detergent (no longer made by CP in the U.S.) * Fab One Shot (detergent) * Florient (room deodorizer) * Halo Shampoo * Kolynos (toothpaste)** * Lustre-Creme Shampoo * Octagon (soap) * Palmolive Rapid Shave *Colgate's Peter Pan Beauty Bar with Chlorophyll * Soaky (bubble bath for kids) * Super Suds (detergent) * Swerl (liquid cleanser) *

Vel Vel ( ta, வேல், lit=Vēl) is a divine javelin or spear associated with Murugan, the Hindu god of war. Significance According to Shaiva tradition, the goddess Parvati presented the Vel to her son Murugan, as an embodiment of her shakti ...

(dishwashing detergent) Notes: * While detergent brands continue to be manufactured and sold by Colgate in some countries, in the United States they have been sold to another company, Phoenix Brands in 2005. Phoenix Brands would file for bankruptcy in May 2016 and the US rights have been assumed by Fab & Kind Company. In May 2015, Colgate-Palmolive sold its Australian laundry detergents and pre-wash brands to

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, commonly known as Henkel, is a German multinational chemical and consumer goods company headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. It is active in both the consumer and industrial sectors. Founded in 1876, the DAX company is organi ...

for US$245 million (€220 million). Colgate-Palmolive has divested its laundry detergents business in Colombia, which was in turn acquired by

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, ...

and some Asian countries, which was acquired by

. ** Still being made by Colgate-Palmolive internationally, but no longer available in the U.S.

Facilities

In the U.S., the company operates approximately 60 properties, of which 14 are owned. Major U.S. manufacturing and warehousing facilities used by the oral, personal and home care segment of Colgate-Palmolive were located in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

(previously the headquarters of the Mennen company prior to their 1991 buyout, and still HQ of the Mennen division) until 2014, when the plant shut down and moved operations to Hodges, South Carolina ;

Morristown, Tennessee Morristown is a city in and the county seat of Hamblen County, Tennessee, United States. Morristown also extends into Jefferson County on the western and southern ends. The city's population was recorded to be 30,431 at the 2020 United States ce ...

; and

Cambridge, Ohio Cambridge is a city in and the county seat of Guernsey County, Ohio, United States. It lies in southeastern Ohio, in the Appalachian Plateau of the Appalachian Mountains 74 miles east of Columbus. The population was 10,635 at the 2010 census. I ...

. The pet nutrition segment has major facilities in

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the ...

;

Emporia, Kansas Emporia is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 24,139. Emporia lies between Topeka and Wichita at the intersection of U.S. Route 50 with Interstates 335 ...

;

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Unit ...

; and

Richmond, Indiana Richmond is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County and is part of the Dayton, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 36,812. Situ ...

. The primary research center for oral, personal and home care products is located in

Piscataway, New Jersey Piscataway () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is a suburb of the New York metropolitan area, in the Raritan River, Raritan Valley. At the 2010 United States C ...

and the primary research center for pet nutrition products is located in Topeka, Kansas. Overseas, the company operates approximately 280 properties of which 80 are owned in over 70 countries. Major overseas facilities used by the Oral, Personal and Home Care segment are located in Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, France, Guatemala, India, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Poland, South Africa, Thailand, Venezuela, Vietnam and elsewhere throughout the world. Colgate-Palmolive has closed or is in the process of phasing out production at certain facilities under a restructuring program initiated in 2004 and has built new state-of-the-art plants to produce toothpaste in the U.S., Mexico and Poland. Colgate-Palmolive's chief manufacturing plant is located in

Burlington, New Jersey Burlington is a city in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 9,743. Burlington was first incorporated on October 24, 1693, and was ...

, producing all of the fragrance and flavor oils for the company's facilities around the world.

Advertising

The iconic hand on the Palmolive dishwashing soap label belongs to

hand model A hand model is a person who models (poses or displays) their hand or hands for the purposes of art, fashion, products or advertising. Hand models are used in advertising where advertisers want close ups of the product being handled. Most hands ...

Elizabeth Barbour. The image is an illustration of a photograph taken in 1985 when the Colgate-Palmolive Company updated the image, hiring Barbour, then with the Ford Agency in

References

External links

*
Colgate-Palmolive company history
* * {{Authority control American companies established in 1806 Colgate family Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Cosmetics companies of the United States Dental companies of the United States Manufacturing companies established in 1806 Multinational companies based in New York City Personal care companies Piscataway, New Jersey Publicly traded companies based in New York City Superfund sites in New Jersey