Kleenex has revealed that it will be rebranding its “Mansize” tissues. This is following criticism from customers and feminist campaigners alike regarding its sexism. A release date is yet to be confirmed.
The “Mansize” tissues have been around for 60 years, but they will now be rebranded as “Extra Large”. The news was announced on social media following customer backlash towards the original branding.
Despite the rebrand, Kleenex owner Kimberley-Clark has defended the original branding, insisting it did not “endorse gender inequality”.
One customer, Lisa Hancox, took to Twitter to share: “Hi @KleenexUK. My four-year-old son asked me what was written here. Then he asked, why are they called Mansize? Can girls, boys & mummies use them?… He suggests you should call them ‘very large tissues’. It is 2018.”
However, the news has not been well received amongst all customers. Some have even ridiculed the rebrand on social media, insisting that it was not necessary.
The Chief executive of feminist group The Fawcett, Sam Smethers, told Sky News:
“Kleenex’s re-branding matters because throughout marketing and advertising, we use lazy gender stereotypes to sell products and convey messages which reinforce those stereotypes.”
“For example, strength for men and weakness for women or we find women’s bodies used and objectified.”
“I use ‘man-sized’ tissues all the time – it just means I have a bad cold!”
A spokesman for Kimberly-Clark told The Telegraph:
“It was launched at a time when large cotton handkerchiefs were still very popular and Kleenex offered a unique disposable alternative. Despite that our consumer service is registering consistent increase of complaints on gender concern related to Mansize subbrand.”
“Kimberly-Clark in no way suggests that being both soft and strong is an exclusively masculine trait, nor do we believe that the Mansize branding suggests or endorses gender inequality. Our Mansize tissues remain one of our most popular products, with 3.4 million people buying these tissues every year.”
“Nevertheless, as we remain committed to developing the best possible products for our consumers and take any feedback extremely seriously, we decided to renovate our current product and update the product subbrand as Kleenex Extra Large.”