Kleenex is a brand name of facial tissue paper and a registered trademark of the Kimberly-Clark Corporation. Because of the success of this brand, many people today refer to any tissue as a "Kleenex", but Kleenex remains a trademark legally referring only to the product of Kimberly-Clark.
The material from which Kleenex is made was originally called "Cellucotton," and was designed by Kimberly-Clark during World War I. It came to be used in gas mask filters during the war, as a replacement for cotton, which was in high demand for use as a surgical dressing.
Kimberly-Clark created the first facial tissue in 1924, and later introduced paper towels, and paper napkins. These facial tissues were originally marketed as a cleaning tissue for such usages as removing cold cream. Later they were marketed as a disposable paper tissue. In the 1930s, the Kimberly-Clark Corporation received a large amount of letters from customers suggesting its use for colds and hay fever. Kleenex were first advertised for use as a handkerchief replacement in 1926; this was to become the product's dominant use. Early advertising recommended using disposable Kleenex instead of a handkerchief with the slogan "Don't Carry A Cold In Your Pocket".
Kleenex is now manufactured in 19 countries, and sold in 150 countries.
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Kleenex was briefly (1978-79) the name of an acclaimed Swiss female post-punk/new wave group, until the threat of legal action by Kimberly-Clark prompted a change of name to LiLiPUT. Consisting of Regula Sing (vocals), Marlene Marder (guitar), Klaudia Schiff (bass) and Lislot Ha (drums) and combining spirited thrash (later modified) with unconventional vocals and lyrics (their mix of adopted English and their native German adding to their charm), the band recorded a number of successful singles prior to Sing's departure, followed by further suucesses under its subsequent name in the early 1980s.