Kleenex to rebrand ‘mansize’ tissues as ‘extra large’ after sexism complaints

Kleenex will re-brand its “Mansize” tissues after consumers complained the name was sexist – touching off a social media conversation about what’s in a name.

The company behind Kleenex, Kimberly-Clark, said on Thursday that the product will now be called “Kleenex Extra Large”. Packages for the tissues describe them as “confidently strong” and “comfortingly soft”.

Kimberly-Clark told Britain’s Daily Telegraph that it in “no way suggests” that being both soft and strong was “an exclusively masculine trait, nor do we believe that the Mansize branding suggests or endorses gender inequality”.

“We are always grateful to customers who take time to tell us how our products can be improved, and we carefully consider all suggestions,” the company said in a statement.

The tissues, which had been on shelves for 60 years, were launched at a time when large cotton handkerchiefs were still very popular and the brand offered “a unique disposable alternative”, the company said. It remains one of their most popular products, with over 3.4 million people in the UK buying the tissues every year.