Kimberly-Clark developed Cellucotton as a
cotton substitute in 1914. Looking for a
post-WWI use for the product, they decided to go
high glamour with Kleenex Kerchiefs, the
Sanitary Cold Cream Remover. They had
Hollywood stars like Helen Hayes and Ronald Coleman advertising the
scientific and
glamorous way to remove
rouge and
lipstick. After five years, the company noticed mail from consumers praising the Kerchiefs as
disposable handkerchiefs. Women kept complaining that their
husbands were
blowing their
noses in their cold cream removers.
In 1930 the company test-marketed the two uses for the product in Peoria, Illinois. The handkerchiefs won.