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August 11, 2009

Natural Product Naming Rids Kimberly-Clark of the Kleercut "Brand"

Fast Company's list of "The Top Ten Worst Green Brand Names" returns me to the issue of green brand naming in a down economy.

This issue is made all the more clear by the recent introduction of Kimberly-Clark's new Scott Naturals line, which hopes to attract the ever-growing LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) consumer segment.

The Scott's Naturals web site suggests it can help you "Turn Over a NEW Leaf..." and the tagline on the packaging is "Green Done Right," which really sounds more like something out of fast food branding (KFC's "We do chicken right" comes to mind).

The Naturals line includes toilet paper, napkins and paper towels, but its the toilet paper that really counts here as softness is such a major issue for buyers: eco-friendly brands are seen as more abrasive. Ouch.

The reason the word "natural" is a safe play is because it will outlast the green movement. Even people who do not want to save boreal forests want "natural" products, especially in the bathroom.

But for those who do, the toilet paper uses a high percentage of recycled paper. This means less damage to the old-growth forests that have gotten Kimberly-Clark in trouble with Greenpeace. Greenpeace activists actually coined a name themselves, "Kleercut," which leveraged Kimberly-Clark's Kleenex name, not in a good way.

However, the new Greenpeace ads reference the truce that has developed between Kimberly-Clark and Greenpeace International. According to the Super Eco blog, "By the end of 2011, Kimberly-Clark will ensure that 40 percent of its North American tissue fiber - some 600,000 tons worth - is either recycled or Forest Stewardship Council-certified. At the same time, Kimberly-Clark will no longer purchase any fiber from the Canadian Boreal Forest that is not FSC-certified."

This truce has angered some really hardcore activists, but I would imagine that Kimberly-Clark can hardly wait to rid the world of the Kleercut name and build new, positive associations with the word Naturals.

Technorati Tags: Natural Product Names, Scott Naturals, Kimberly-Clark Product Naming, Greenpeace Kleercut, Green Naming

Posted by William Lozito at August 11, 2009 9:08 AM
Posted to Brand Naming | Branding | Household Goods | Industry | Marketing | Naming | Product Naming

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