U By Kotex Teams Up With Khloe Kardashian to Break Barriers Around Important Women's Health Issue

New Product Line Encourages Women to Join the Declaration of Real Talk Campaign

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Apr 14, 2010, 05:00 ET

NEW YORK, April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- U by Kotex, a bold new feminine care product line by Kimberly-Clark, has partnered with Khloe Kardashian to encourage women to join the Declaration of Real Talk Campaign. The cause-related campaign is the culmination of an eye-opening U by Kotex study of more than 1,600 North American women aged 14-35, which revealed that 7 in 10 women believe it's time for society to change how it talks about vaginal health, yet less than half (45%) feel empowered to make a difference.

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Additionally, study shows that most women believe society is more open to discussion about penises than vaginas (72%) and the majority feel they're expected to keep vaginal health issues to themselves (60%). In fact, 43% feel more comfortable saying "penis" than "vagina." U by Kotex, together with Khloe, want to change this by empowering young women to take control of their health and bodies, lead social change and speak out against societal pressures and censorship.

"I'm happy to help U by Kotex start breaking down this wall of euphemisms – literally," said Khloe Kardashian. "I'll gladly take a sledgehammer to the things holding women back and want everyone to join me in supporting this cause!"

The Declaration of Real Talk is part of the launch of the innovative and stylish U by Kotex product line developed by Kimberly-Clark, creators of the Kotex brand and the feminine care category. Featuring sleek black packaging and brightly colored wrappers, the self-expressive design of the tampons, pads and liners mirrors the line's goal of supporting women in having bold discussions about their health. The line was created in response to women's shared frustration with today's institutional look and uninspired attitude of the feminine care category.

For every woman who joins the movement by signing the Declaration of Real Talk and/or recording an empowering statement at www.UbyKotex.com, U by Kotex will make a $1 donation(1) to Girls For A Change – a national non-profit organization that empowers girls to create and lead social change within their communities. U by Kotex shares a common mission with Girls For A Change and is taking the lead in encouraging young women to spark a new conversation that is long overdue in feminine care.

"Women are insulted by blue liquid advertisements and snarky jokes, and they're tired of skirting around honest discussions about a natural, normal and healthy process," said Nancy Redd, U by Kotex Advocate and author of The New York Times best seller Body Drama. "It's not surprising that our study found the more women know about their vaginal health, the more likely they are to have a positive body image as well as a higher level of self-confidence and ability to express themselves."

Break the Cycle: A Study on Vaginal Health

Additional survey results suggest that women may not even feel comfortable talking openly to other women. Instead, more women (62%) said they turn to the Internet when they need information or have questions about their vaginal health than their friends (30%) or mothers (40%), and more than half (53%) are more comfortable using slang to discuss their vagina and period. Despite women's embarrassment to openly discuss a normal, healthy part of their body, half (48%) have sent a sexy or flirty text message. Moreover, as many as 1 in 4 have shared a revealing, flirty or sexy photo of themselves, via text (26%), email (18%) and/or a social networking site (7%). This demonstrates a disconnect between a highly sexualized society and women's shame in talking about their personal health, which further illustrates why change is needed.

Break the Cycle: A Study on Vaginal Health was conducted by Harris Interactive® in August 2009. Additional details can be found below and at http://www.ubykotex.com/downloads/pdf/u_by_kotex_real_talk_a_study_on_vaginal_health.pdf.

"From the Declaration of Real Talk and our work with Girls For A Change to our highly interactive Web site and daring advertising campaign, we hope to inspire young women to support important social change and be more comfortable with their own femininity and bodies," said Aida Flick, brand director, Kotex.

Study Methodology

Break the Cycle: A Study on Vaginal Health is based on findings from an online survey commissioned by U by Kotex. The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive between August 3-19, 2009 and interviewed a total of 1,607 North American females aged 14-35, including 1,019 females residing in the U.S. and 588 females residing in Canada. Total sample data were weighted to be representative of the population of females aged 14-35 residing in the U.S. and Canada. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. The key objectives of the survey were to explore women's perceptions of, and attitudes toward, contemporary social discourse about vaginal health; assess women's level of comfort with their body, their vagina, and their period; evaluate how knowledgeable women believe themselves to be about vaginal health, menstruation, pregnancy, and feminine care products, and whether or not they subscribe to certain myths about women's health; and determine who they discuss vaginal health issues with and how comfortable they feel doing so. Contributions to the survey development and data analysis were made by U by Kotex Advocates Nancy Redd, Dr. Tomi-Ann Roberts, Chelsea Krost and Dr. Aliza Lifshitz.

About Girls for a Change

Girls For A Change (GFC) is a national non-profit organization that empowers girls to create social change. The organization invites young women to design, lead, fund and implement social change projects that tackle issues girls face. GFC provides the tools, resources, partnerships and support girls need to gain the voice, ability and problem-solving capacity to realize their full potential. GFC welcomes and serves all girls and focuses efforts on girls who live in low income communities. For more information, visit www.girlsforachange.org.

About the U by Kotex Product Line and Kimberly-Clark

U by Kotex, the newest line of feminine care products (tampons, pads and liners) from Kimberly-Clark, provides outstanding product performance complemented by a colorful, cool design and attitude. Black boxes and neon wrappers signify the bold stand that U by Kotex is taking to turn current category conventions upside down.

Kimberly-Clark and its well known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 150 countries. Every day, 1.3 billion people – nearly a quarter of the world's population – trust K-C brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds the No. 1 or No. 2 shared position in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the company's 138-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com.

(1) Up to $150,000 donation to Girls For A Change

SOURCE Kimberly-Clark