The word Kleenex has come to mean any type of facial tissue, regardless of the brand. It is however, the registered trademark of Kimberly-Clark Worldwide Inc, first registered in 1924.
Kimberley-Clark assiduously protects its intellectual property by rigidly enforcing correct usage, such as Kleenex facial tissue, Kleenex bathroom tissue, and Kleenex paper towels. Although these products may look and feel similar, they have very different properties. For example, Kleenex toilet tissue disintegrates easily to assist in its disposal through the sewage system, whereas facial tissues resist falling apart when wet.
Kleenex tissues were originally invented in the early 20th century, and was known as 'Cellucotton', and was used in gas mask filters during World War I. The first facial tissue was launched in 1924 as a pleasant and effective way to remove cold cream. Customers started using it as a disposable handkerchief particularly when suffering a cold or hay fever, so the company started marketing it as such.
The parent company, Kimberly-Clark is a leading global health and hygiene company employing more than 55,000 people worldwide with sales of over $17 billion. Its headquarters are in Dallas, Texas, with operations in 37 countries and sales in more than 150 countries. Every day, 1.3 billion people trust Kimberly-Clark products and the solutions they provide to make their lives better. Kleenex is just one of the group's well known family care and personal care brands ; others include Scott, Andrex, Huggies, Pull-Ups and Kotex.