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The not-so-fun facts about Kleenex you all know: Kleenex, one of the most popular brands of tissue products in the world, contributes to the destruction of ancient forests. Its manufacturer, Kimberly-Clark, has been unwilling to improve its practices, continuing to rely on paper and pulp made from clearcut ancient forest. Kimberly-Clark clears these ancient forests, essential in fighting climate change and providing home to wildlife like caribou, wolves, eagles and bears, into products that are flushed down the toilet or thrown away. However, here are some juicy tidbits about our least favorite product. Straight from the internet . . .


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. (Wikipedia)

The group Liliput formed in 1978 under the name Kleenex, and soon made a name for themselves, until the threat of legal action by Kimberly-Clark in 1979 prompted a change of name to LiLiPUT (Kleenex being a propietry brand of tampon in Switzerland). (Wikipedia)

Weird image: http://www.ironicsans.com/2006/06/georgia_okleenex.html

The KLEENEX¨ brand first advertised its function as a ‘marvelous new way to remove cold cream.’ Many famous actresses proclaim KLEENEX¨ Tissues contributed to their clear complexions. (http://feeds.feedburner.com/thedesignencyclopedia)

The term in France, “a Kleenex generation,” refers to workplace instability. A “Kleenex generation” means that an employee is “used and tossed away when the employer decides he needs a fresh one.” (from Barbara Ehrenreich, “Kleenex Workers” )

The term “snot party” (come on, you heard of it, right?!?) essentially translates into: the act of several people sneezing and blowing their noses really hard into kleenexes (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=snot+party)