Press Releases

Pull-Ups Training Pants With Easy Open Sides Help Make Potty Training Easier

NEENAH, Wis., May 27, 2003 — Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) understands the changing needs of parents and children. Now more than ever, parents are looking for ways to help make potty training easier and today PULL-UPS® Brand provides a solution with the biggest advancement in training pants since Kimberly-Clark invented them in 1989.

PULL-UPS® Training Pants go off and on like Big Kid® underwear, and stay on. Now with new Easy Open Sides, they are the first-ever training pants to provide quick and easy removal by Mom or Dad for those times when you need it. PULL-UPS® Training Pants with Easy Open Sides are significantly preferred versus current PULL-UPS® Training Pants for potty training2.

According to a recent survey1 sponsored by PULL-UPS® Training Pants, almost two-thirds (64%) of parents with toddlers wish they could simplify their lives, and three out of four (73%) parents agree that completing potty training is challenging for them. PULL-UPS® Training Pants with Easy Open Sides will help make potty training easier for parents, and kids will see them as the first step in becoming a Big Kid® as they gain a sense of independence. The bigger and bolder Disney graphics specially designed for boys and girls make them look more like real underwear. In addition, designs that fade when wet teach kids the difference between wet and dry.

"Potty training is a significant milestone in every child's life," said Maggie Dugan, a preschool teacher and member of PULL-UPS® Potty Training Partners, a group comprised of parents, pediatricians and child care professionals. "It's important to keep potty training as effortless and routine as possible because we all know potty training doesn't happen in a day. Using PULL-UPS® Training Pants with Easy Open Sides not only makes kids feel more grown up but can help make the process a little easier because they have Easy Open Sides, just in case."

One out of three parents agree that potty training is more time consuming than anticipated1, so PULL-UPS® Brand is designating June as Potty Training Awareness Month, to help guide parents and children through this important stage. Because every child trains differently, this month will help parents find a pace that's just right for them.

To support the effort, the PULL-UPS® Potty Training Partners offers 24/7 potty training advice at www.pull-ups.com. "Parents need a potty training resource available to help them day or night," says Christopher Lynn, father of twins and member of the Potty Training Partners, "The Web site provides step-by-step tips to help identify when your child is ready to start potty training, how to train them more easily and how to finish training sooner."

PULL-UPS® Brand is the first to introduce training pants with Easy Open Sides, which in its own small way makes PULL-UPS® Training Pants With Easy Open Sides not only evolutionary, but revolutionary.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark and its well-known brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 150 countries. Every day, one in four people around the world trust K-C's brands to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being -- brands such as KLEENEX®, SCOTT®, HUGGIES®, PULL-UPS®, KOTEX® and DEPEND®. For the second consecutive year, Kimberly-Clark has been named to Fortune magazine's list of "100 Best Companies to Work For In America." With nearly 64,000 employees worldwide, the company has received similar recognition in the U.K., Argentina, Australia, Korea and Thailand. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the company's 131-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com.

1. PULL-UPS® Potty Training Survey conducted by StrategyOne from March 24 – April 3, 2003. The survey was completed nationwide among 300 parents of toddlers between the ages 2 – 4, whose children are currently being potty trained or have been fully potty trained. Margin of error +/- 5.7%.

    

2. Source: Independent consumer test versus Huggies® Supreme Diapers: November 2000. Among those with a preference at the 90% confidence level.