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Kimberly-Clark's Depend Refastenable Underwear Wins 2003 Caregiver Friendly Award From Today's Caregiver Magazine DALLAS, May 23, 2003 - Today's Caregiver magazine recently recognized Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB) and its Depend refastenable underwear with a 2003 Caregiver Friendly Award® in the Product category. 

Depend refastenable underwear was the only absorbent product selected for the award. According to Gary Barg, Today's Caregiver magazine's chief executive officer and editor in chief, the judges were "enthralled" by the product and its versatility. 

"Insights into the needs of family caregivers' was important in the development of Depend refastenable underwear," said Bruce Paynter, president of Kimberly-Clark's Adult Care sector. "Caregivers helped us understand the challenges they have in caring for the incontinence needs of their loved ones, as well as their concerns with product application, comfort and fit. The 2003 Caregiver Friendly Award distinguishes Depend refastenable underwear as a product that truly can help caregivers provide care to their loved one. That is what matters a great deal to us." 

Introduced in late 2001, Depend refastenable underwear is the world's first and only adult incontinence product that offers a choice of how to put the product on. The design makes it possible for the product to be pulled on or off like regular underwear, or opened along side perforations and applied like a wrap-around brief. 

"The fact that caregivers can use it any way, whether the person is standing, sitting or lying down, shows that Kimberly-Clark stopped and thought about what family caregivers go through and made a product that addresses their needs," Barg said. 

Depend refastenable underwear offers incontinent adults discreet protection for moderate to heavy incontinence. The innovative design incorporates a soft, breathable outer cover with stretchy material, which makes it more like underwear. It is available in two sizes: small/medium and large/extra large, in 18- and 16-count packages. 

Comments from the Today's Caregiver judges reflect their appreciation for the product, which offers the protection of traditional fitted briefs, the dignity and comfort of normal underwear and the unique ability to apply the product two ways:

• "Good universal product, offers peace of mind."
• "Excellent solution to a caregiver's problem, very thoughtful."
• "Like the ability to replace the product without having to remove all clothes."

"The Caregiver Friendly Award recognizes and rewards those organizations that care for family caregivers in as committed a manner as they care for their loved ones," Barg said. 

This is the third major award recognition for Depend products, which also won a 1999 Market Maker Award for outstanding performance in the Home Health Care Category and the 2000 Market Engineering Leadership Award by Frost & Sullivan Consulting. 

About the Caregiver Friendly Awards 

The Caregiver Friendly Awards are presented by Today's Caregiver magazine to celebrate outstanding books, media, products and services which have been designed with the best interest of the caregiver and his or her loved one in mind. Today's Caregiver magazine and www.caregiver.com, launched in 1995, are published by Caregiver Media Group, which also produces the national Sharing Wisdom Caregivers Conferences. 

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. 

Contact: 

David J. Dickson
972-281-1481
[email protected]