Kotex
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Kotex (; ) is an American brand of
menstrual hygiene The menstrual cycle is a series of natural changes in hormone production and the structures of the uterus and ovaries of the female reproductive system that makes pregnancy possible. The ovarian cycle controls the production and release of egg ...
products, which includes the Kotex maxi, thin and ultra-thin pads, the Security tampons, and the Lightdays pantiliners. Most recently, the company has added U by Kotex to its
menstrual hygiene The menstrual cycle is a series of natural changes in hormone production and the structures of the uterus and ovaries of the female reproductive system that makes pregnancy possible. The ovarian cycle controls the production and release of egg ...
product line. Kotex is owned and managed by
Kimberly-Clark Kimberly-Clark Corporation is an American multinational consumer goods and personal care corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. The company manufactures sanitary paper products and surgical & medical instruments. Kimb ...
, a consumer products corporation active in more than 80 countries.


History

The modern, commercial, disposable pads started in the late nineteenth century with the company in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, and
Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...
in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. In the UK, the
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
firm of Southall Brothers & Barclay was advertising "sanitary towels" in ''The Family Doctor and Home Medical Adviser'' in the early 1890s. In the United States, Kotex was launched in 1920 by
Kimberly-Clark Kimberly-Clark Corporation is an American multinational consumer goods and personal care corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. The company manufactures sanitary paper products and surgical & medical instruments. Kimb ...
to make use of leftover cellucotton (wood pulp fiber) from World War One bandages. An employee noted that the pads had a "cotton-like texture" which was abbreviated to "cot-tex" and then made the product name with alternate spelling. In the 1920s, Kimberly-Clark placed advertisements in the women's magazines '' Good Housekeeping'' and ''
Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine that ran until 2016 and was last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th centur ...
''. Although some readers were offended by the ads, the product's success led to more advertisements. Kimberly-Clark also promoted Kotex in ''Good Housekeeping'' by using intimate
advice column An advice column is a column in a question and answer format. Typically, a (usually anonymous) reader writes to the media outlet with a problem in the form of a question, and the media outlet provides an answer or response. The responses are w ...
ist Mary Pauline Callender. Originally sold in a hospital blue box at 12 for 60 cents, Victorian sexual prudishness caused slow acceptance until
Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a mail-order business and later a department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001; its common nickname was "Monkey Wards". ...
began advertising them in its 1926 catalog, reaching $11 million sales in 1927 in 57 countries. It became one of the first self-service items in American retailing history after it was strategically placed on countertops with a special payment box so that the woman didn't have to ask a clerk for it and touch hands. Tampax appeared in 1936. Belts were needed until the 1970 introduction of Stayfree by Personal Products Co. and New Freedom Pads by Kimberly-Clark. New Freedom is a former brand in the Kotex family. New Freedom was one of the first beltless pads manufactured in the early 1970s.


Product line

In August 2009, Kotex launched a premium sub-brand called Kotex Luxe in
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
. It launched U by Kotex Tween, products aimed at girls aged 8–12 in the US in 2011.


Recalls and defects

In September 2012, Kimberly-Clark issued a warning regarding a shipment of rejected Kotex tampons stolen and sold to the public. The company said the defective products posed only a minor health risk to consumers. In December 2018, Kimberly-Clark issued a recall of U by Kotex Sleek tampons due to findings that the product would sometimes break apart during removal, leaving behind fragments in the body that could require medical attention for removal.


"Red Dot" controversy

In 2004, advertisements featuring a CG
anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...
red
punctuation Punctuation marks are marks indicating how a piece of writing, written text should be read (silently or aloud) and, consequently, understood. The oldest known examples of punctuation marks were found in the Mesha Stele from the 9th century BC, c ...
dot, known as Red Dot, were televised with the slogan "Kotex fits. Period.", in which the slogan was launched for the product's marketing campaign in October 2000. The Red Dot, referring to a woman's " period", dissolves on the pad and explains how the pad comforts during a woman’s
sex life In human sexuality, a sex life is a sector of a person's day-to-day existence which may involve sexual activity or represent the absence of sexual activity. In general parlance, the term can have many sub-meanings and social layers, but generall ...
, which became far too questionable due to the viewership surrounding children owing to their limited understanding, citing this as a result of
verbal abuse Verbal abuse (also known as verbal aggression, verbal attack, verbal violence, verbal assault, psychic aggression, or psychic violence) is a type of Psychological abuse, psychological/mental abuse that involves the use of Oral language, oral or w ...
. In 2005, it was announced that the slogan will no longer be used for the products due to the caused damaging sells, realizing that its advertised meaning for "menstruation" was never meant to be publicized in front of children, even by demonstrating with an animated red punctuation mark.


Notes


References

*


Further reading

* Guadagnolo, D. (2020).
“The Miracle of You”: Women's Sex Education and the Marketing of Kotex.
''Modern American History'' * * On the origin of Kotex sanitary napkins. Cites: ** *


External links

{{commons category
Kimberly-Clark corporate website

Girlspace: Kotex website for teen girls

U by Kotex USA

U by Kotex English-Canada

U by Kotex French-Canada

Kotex Singapore

Kotex in Russia
Feminine hygiene brands Kimberly-Clark brands Products introduced in 1920