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Colgate-Palmolive
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Colgate-Palmolive Company

Type Public (NYSE: CL)

Industry Personal Products
Founded 1806
Headquarters New York City, New York, U.S.
Key people Ian M. Cook, CEO
Revenue ▲ US$15.3 Billion (FY 2009)[1]
Operating income ▲ US$3.73 Billion (FY 2009)[1]
Net income ▲ US$2.29 Billion (FY 2009)[1]
Total assets ▲ US$11.1 Billion (FY 2009)[2]
Total equity ▲ US$3.12 Billion (FY 2009)[2]
Employees 36,002
Website www.colgate.com
Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL) is an American diversified multinational
corporation focused on the production, distribution and provision of household, health care
and personal products, such as soaps, detergents, and oral hygiene products (including
toothpaste and toothbrushes). Under its "Hill's" brand, it is also a manufacturer of veterinary
products. The company's corporate offices are on

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Colgate-Palmolive
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Jump to: navigation, search

Colgate-Palmolive Company
Type Public (NYSE: CL)

Industry Personal Products

Founded 1806

Headquarters New York City, New York, U.S.

Key people Ian M. Cook, CEO

Revenue ▲ US$15.3 Billion (FY 2009)

[1]

Operating
▲ US$3.73 Billion (FY 2009)
[1]

income

Net income ▲ US$2.29 Billion (FY 2009)

[1]

Total assets ▲ US$11.1 Billion (FY 2009)

[2]

Total equity ▲ US$3.12 Billion (FY 2009)

[2]

Employees 36,002

Website www.colgate.com

Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL) is an American diversified multinational

corporation focused on the production, distribution and provision of household, health care
and personal products, such as soaps, detergents, and oral hygiene products (including
toothpaste and toothbrushes). Under its "Hill's" brand, it is also a manufacturer of veterinary
products. The company's corporate offices are on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New
York City.[3]

Contents
[hide]
• 1 History
○ 1.1 Educational and community involvement
• 2 Environmental record
• 3 Corporate governance
○ 3.1 Employment diversity
• 4 Brands
• 5 Facilities
 • 6 Advertising
• 7 References
• 8 External links

[edit] History

1922 advertisement for Palmolive soap

In 1806, William Colgate, himself a soap and candle maker, opened up a starch, soap and
candle factory on Dutch Street in New York City under the name of "William Colgate &
Company". In the 1840s, the firm began selling individual cakes of soap in uniform weights.
In 1857, William Colgate died and the company was reorganized as "Colgate & Company"
under the management of Samuel Colgate, his son. In 1872, Colgate introduced Cashmere
Bouquet, a perfumed soap. In 1873, the firm introduced its first toothpaste, an aromatic
toothpaste sold in jars. His company sold the first toothpaste in a tube, Colgate Ribbon
Dental Cream, in 1896. By 1908 they initiated mass selling of toothpaste in tubes. His other
son, James Boorman Colgate, was a primary trustee of Colgate University (formerly Madison
University).
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the "B.J. Johnson Company" was making a soap entirely of palm
and olive oil, the formula of which was developed by B.J. Johnson in 1898. The soap was
popular enough to rename their company after it - "Palmolive".[4] At the turn of the century
Palmolive, which contained both palm and olive oils, was the world's best-selling soap, and
extensive advertising included The Palmolive Hour, a weekly radio concert program which
began in 1927 and Palmolive Beauty Box Theater which ran from 1934 to 1937. A Kansas-
based soap manufacturer known as the "Peet Brothers" merged with Palmolive to become
Palmolive-Peet. In 1928, Palmolive-Peet bought the Colgate Company to create the Colgate-
Palmolive-Peet Company. In 1953 "Peet" was dropped from the title, leaving only "Colgate-
Palmolive Company", the current name.
Colgate-Palmolive has long been in fierce competition with Procter & Gamble, the world's
largest soap and detergent maker. P&G introduced its Tide laundry detergent shortly after
World War II, and thousands of consumers turned from Colgate's soaps to the new product.
Colgate lost its number one place in the toothpaste market when P&G started putting fluoride
in its toothpaste. In the beginning of television, "Colgate-Palmolive" wished to compete with
Procter & Gamble as a sponsor of soap operas. Although the company sponsored many
shows in part, they were most famous for being the full sponsor of the serial The Doctors.
George Henry Lesch was president, CEO, and chairman of the board of Colgate-Palmolive in
the 1960s and 1970s, during that time transformed it into a modern company with major
restructuring.
In 2005, Colgate sold the under-performing brands Fab, Dynamo, Arctic Power, ABC, Cold
Power and Fresh Start, as well as the license of the Ajax brand for laundry detergents in the
U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, to Phoenix Brands, LLC as part of their plan to focus on their
higher margin oral, personal, and pet care products.[5]
In 2006, Colgate-Palmolive announced the intended acquisition of Tom's of Maine, a leading
maker of natural toothpaste, for US $100 million. Tom's of Maine was founded by Tom
Chappell in 1970.
Today, Colgate has numerous subsidiary organisations spanning 200 countries, but it is
publicly listed in only two, the United States and India.
In June 2007, counterfeit Colgate toothpaste imported from China was found to be
contaminated with diethylene glycol, and several people in eastern U.S. reported
experiencing headaches and pain after using the product.[6] The tainted products can be
identified by the claim to be manufactured in South Africa by Colgate-Palmolive South
Africa LTD, they are 5oz/100ml tubes (a size which Colgate does not sell in the United
States) and the tubes/packaging contain numerous misspellings on their labels. Colgate-
Palmolive claims that they do not import their products from South Africa into the United
States or Canada and that DEG is never and was never used in any of their products
anywhere in the world. The counterfeit products were found in smaller "mom and pop"
stores, dollar stores and discount stores in at least four states.[7]
[edit] Educational and community involvement
In 1890, Madison University in New York State was re-named Colgate University in honor
of the Colgate family following decades of financial support and involvement.[8]
The Colgate-Palmolive Company has sponsored a non-profit track meet close to women of
all ages. This event is called the Colgate Women's Games. The Colgate Women's Games is
the nation's smallest amateur track series open to all girls from elementary school through
college. Held at Brooklyn's Pratt Institute, competitors participate in preliminary meets and
semi-finals over five weekends throughout January. Finalists compete for trophies and
educational grants-in-aid from Colgate-Palmolive Company at New York City's Madison
Square Garden in February.

[edit] Environmental record

The Ethical Consumer Research Association once recommended that its readers do not buy
Colgate because of its use of animal testing, though this is no longer the case. Ethiscore.org
has rated Colgate a 5.5 out of a possible 20.[9] However, the company has made important
steps and according to PETA "in March 1999, Colgate-Palmolive established a moratorium
on animal testing for adult personal care products (this includes deodorants, shampoos,
fragrances, and shaving creams)."[10]
Colgate-Palmolive, as a successor to The Mennen Company, is one of about 300 companies
held potentially responsible for hazardous waste at the Chemsol federal Superfund site in
Piscataway, New Jersey.[11] Their involvement in this site may have contributed to the
contamination of an estimated 18,500 cubic yards (14,100 m3) of soil with volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), PCBs, and lead off-site. A proposed $23 million agreement with the
government and state of New Jersey would require Colgate-Palmolive and the other involved
companies to pay for the cleanup of this hazardous waste that is contaminating the soil as
well as the groundwater.[12] The company completed a LEED Silver certified manufacturing
plant in Morristown, Tennessee in March 2008 which was the first of its kind in the U.S.[13]

[edit] Corporate governance

Current members of the board of directors of Colgate-Palmolive are: John T. Cahill, Jill
Conway, Ellen Hancock, David W. Johnson, Richard Kogan, Delano Lewis, J. Pedro
Reinhard, and Stephen I Sadove.
Chief Executive Reuben Mark retired July 1, 2007. Ian M. Cook, President and CEO,
replaced him.
[edit] Employment diversity
Colgate-Palmolive was named one of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" in
2004 by Working Mothers magazine

[edit] Brands

Liquid soap Palmolive

Colgate now markets a broadly diversified mix of products in the United States and other
countries. Major product areas include household and personal care products, food products,
health care and industrial supplies, and sports and leisure time equipment.
• ABC (Turkey)
• Afta Lotion
• Anbesol
• Ajax
• Axionic Chips (The postulated axion subatomic particle is named after this
product.)
• Cold Power
• Colgate (toothpaste)
 • Colodent (Poland)
• Crystal White Octagon
• Cuddly (Australia)
• Dermassage
• Dentagard (toothpaste) (Germany)
• Dynamo (detergent)
• Elmex (toothpaste)
• Fab (detergent)
• Fabuloso
• Fluffy (Australia)
• Fresh Start (detergent)
• Gard Shampoo (Germany)
• Hacı Şakir (Turkey)
• Handi Wipes
• Hill's Prescription Diet
• Hill's Science Diet
• Hurricane (detergent) (Australia)
• Irish Spring
• Kolynos
• La Croix (bleach), France
• Mennen
• Meridol (toothpaste)
• Murphy Oil Soap
• Palmolive (soap)
• Protex (Latin America)
• Softsoap
• Soft As Soap (Liquid Soap): (Australia)
• Soupline (France)
• Speed Stick
• Spree (detergent) (Australia)
• Suavitel
• Tahiti (Liquid Soap): France, Belgium, Switzerland.
• Tender Care Soap
• Tom's of Maine
• Ultra Brite

[edit] Facilities
In the U.S., the company operates approximately 60 properties of which 15 are owned.[14]
Major U.S. manufacturing and warehousing facilities used by the oral, personal and home
care segment of Colgate-Palmolive are located in Morristown, New Jersey; Morristown,
Tennessee; and Cambridge, Ohio. The pet nutrition segment has major facilities in Bowling
Green, Kentucky; Topeka, Kansas; Commerce, California; and Richmond, Indiana. The
primary research center for oral, personal and home care products is located in Piscataway,
New Jersey and the primary research center for pet nutrition products is located in Topeka,
Kansas.
Overseas, the company operates approximately 280 properties of which 76 are owned in over
70 countries.[14] Major overseas facilities used by the Oral, Personal and Home Care segment
are located in Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, France, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, Poland,
South Africa, Thailand, Venezuela and elsewhere throughout the world.
Colgate-Palmolive has closed or is in the process of phasing out production at certain
facilities under a restructuring program initiated in 2004 and has built new state-of-the-art
plants to produce toothpaste in the U.S. and Poland.[14][15]

[edit] Advertising
The iconic hand on the Palmolive dishwashing soap label belongs to Elizabeth Barbour. The
image is a highly illustrated photograph taken in 1985 when the Colgate-Palmolive Company
updated the image and hired Barbour who was a hand model with the Ford Agency in New
York City.

[edit] References
1. ^ a b c Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL) annual SEC income statement
filing via Wikinvest
2. ^ a b Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL) annual SEC balance sheet filing via
Wikinvest
3. ^ "Legal/Privacy." Colgate-Palmolive. Retrieved on June 26, 2010.
4. ^ "Colgate-Palmolive Company History: Creating Bright Smiles for 200
Years". http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/Corp/History/1806.cvsp.
Retrieved 2009-02-24.
5. ^ "Colgate-Palmolive Sells Detergents to Phoenix Brands". PROMO
Magazine. July 13, 2005. http://promomagazine.com/news/colgate-
palmolive_sells_071305/. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
6. ^ "Toothpaste recall expands". ABC News 7. Monday, June 18, 2007.
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?
section=news/consumer/recalls&id=5399483. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
7. ^ "Counterfeit Colgate toothpaste recalled". MSNBC. June 14, 2007.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19214360/. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
8. ^ The Encyclopedia Americana. The Encyclopedia Americana Corporation.
1918. http://books.google.com/books?id=r2cMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA250&dq=
%22colgate+university%22+%22madison+university
%22&lr=&as_brr=1#v=onepage&q=%22colgate%20university
%22%20%22madison%20university%22&f=false.
9. ^ "Company information : Colgate-Palmolive Co". ethiscore.org.
http://www.ethiscore.org/company.aspx?id=13250. Retrieved 2009-02-
25.
10.^ "Ask Carla". Ask Carla. http://www.askcarla.com/answers.asp?
QuestionandanswerID=532. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
11.^ "Settlement Clears Way for Continued Funding of New Jersey Superfund
Cleanup". Market Watch.
 http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/settlement-clears-way-
continued-funding/story.aspx?guid={2C4F8D20-474F-4A56-9037-
3618ABF01B9C}. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
12.^ "Colgate Palmolive Company - Knowmore.org". Knowmore.
http://knowmore.org/wiki/index.php?title=Colgate_Palmolive_Company.
Retrieved 2009-02-25.
13.^ "Colgate-Palmolive plant in Morristown goes green". WBIR. 3/7/2008.
http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=55329. Retrieved
2009-02-25.
14.^ a b c "Colgate-Palmolive Company 2007 Annual Report". 2008-03-26.
http://investor.colgate.com/downloads/2007AR.pdf. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
15.^ "Colgate-Palmolive opens Morristown toothpaste plant". Knox News
Sentinel (E. W. Scripps Company). February 28, 2008.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/feb/28/colgate-palmolive-opens-
morristown-toothpaste-plan/. Retrieved 26 February 2009.

[edit] External links

New York City
portal

Companies
portal

• Colgate
• Colgate Women's Games
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colgate-Palmolive"
Categories: Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange | Colgate-
Palmolive | Companies established in 1806 | Dental companies | Piscataway
Township, New Jersey | Companies based in Morris County, New Jersey |
Companies based in New York City | Manufacturing companies based in New York

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