Tampax
Tampax is a brand of tampon from Procter & Gamble. It was originally both the name of an independent company for over 50 years, based in Palmer, Massachusetts (with headquarters in New York) and the product itself. Renamed Tambrands, Inc. during the 1980s, P&G purchased it in the late 1990s. It was noted for decades as having the dominate share of the tampon market, challenged mostly by Playtex, J&J, Kimberly-Clark and briefly by P&G's failed product from the 1970s called "Rely". The "Rely" tampon was pulled from the market after being associated with Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS). During World War II Tampax produced large quantities of wound dressings for the military. It was noted for having a mostly, almost exclusively, female workforce for much of its history. Financially, while still independent, it was also noted for carrying no debt for most of its corporate lifetime and ranked ~#4 on the Fortune 500 list for return on equity. The original product was designed from the start as flushable and biodegradeable.