Kotex

Kotex is a brand of feminine hygiene 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 line of feminine hygiene products. Kotex is owned and managed by Kimberly-Clark, a consumer products corporation active in more than 80 countries.

The modern, commercial, disposable pads seem to have started in the late nineteenth century with the Hartmann company in Germany, and Johnson & Johnson in the United States. In the United States, Kotex was launched in 1920 by Kimberly-Clark to make use of leftover cellucotton (wood pulp fiber) from World War One bandages. Kotex became well known in the 1920s after Kimberly-Clark placed advertisements in Good Housekeeping magazine. Although some readers were offended by the ads, the products' success led to more advertisements. Kimberly-Clark also promoted Kotex in Good Housekeeping by using intimate advice columnist Mary Pauline Callender.