public personal-care and paper-products company

Kimberly-Clark

A public personal-care and paper-products company selling Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle, Scott, and related tissue, diaper, and hygiene brands. Kimberly-Clark makes useful essentials, but disposable-product dependence, forestry and plastic burden, and shareholder governance keep it low.

Why this matters: Diapers, tissues, menstrual products, and toilet paper are core annual needs where consumers need better comparisons.

Letter grade F Malignant Medium confidence (AI) Rubric gcd-rubric-v1 Last reviewed May 11, 2026

Final Score -2* F - Malignant

FMALIGNANT-2 pts

* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.

Base Material14

Bonus+0

Cap35Ownership <= 2 and Governance <= 2

After Cap14

Penalties-16

!Not Verified

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Evaluation Overview

F - Malignant

The score turns mainly on Product Integrity, with the largest penalty coming from Ecological Harm.

Strengths

Product Integrity3/5
Extraction2/10
Market Conduct2/5

Penalties

Ecological Harm-3
Policy Capture-3
Animal Testing-3
Toxic Products-2

Evidence state

ConfidenceMedium confidence (AI)
ThoroughnessDeveloped (AI)
Linked claims11
Direct axis claims11
Coverage11/17

Scoring Axes

Axis	Score	Why this score
Ownership ? Control rights: shareholder-dominated at 0, worker cooperative control at 10.	1 / 10	Kimberly-Clark is a public shareholder-governed company, not a household, caregiver, worker, or community-controlled producer. Kimberly-Clark is a public shareholder-governed company, not a household, caregiver, worker, or community-controlled producer. That keeps Kimberly-Clark low on Ownership: decisive control remains with shareholders, private owners, executives, or state insiders rather than affected people. The value is above zero only where the linked record still shows some real function, constraint, or public value on this axis. Linked evidence Kimberly-Clark is a public shareholder-governed company, not a household, caregiver, worker, or community-controlled producer. [1]
Governance ? Binding decision authority: centralized control at 0, democratic stakeholder control at 10.	1 / 10	Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. That keeps Kimberly-Clark low on Governance: ordinary users, workers, customers, or affected communities cannot change the rules that govern them. The value is above zero only where the linked record still shows some real function, constraint, or public value on this axis. Linked evidence context Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. [2] context Kimberly-Clark is a public shareholder-governed company, not a household, caregiver, worker, or community-controlled producer. [1] context Major brands such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle, and Scott give Kimberly-Clark durable category power over recurring household needs. [3]
Extraction ? Surplus allocation, wage share, CEO pay ratio, margins, and structured extraction judgment.	2 / 10	Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. That keeps Kimberly-Clark low on Extraction: the business model makes extraction from workers, users, suppliers, customers, or the public central rather than incidental. The value is above zero only where the linked record still shows some real function, constraint, or public value on this axis. Linked evidence context Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. [2] context Kimberly-Clark is a public shareholder-governed company, not a household, caregiver, worker, or community-controlled producer. [1] context Major brands such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle, and Scott give Kimberly-Clark durable category power over recurring household needs. [3]
Labor Sovereignty ? Worker power: coercive conditions at 0, co-determination or ownership at 7. Employee dissatisfaction matters only when source-backed evidence shows concrete limits on worker agency, such as coercive scheduling, retaliation, wage theft, harassment, unsafe conditions, suppression of worker voice, or extreme turnover.	1 / 7	Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. That keeps Kimberly-Clark low on Labor Sovereignty: labor remains managerially controlled, replaceable, or exposed to coercive employment and contracting conditions. The value is above zero only where the linked record still shows some real function, constraint, or public value on this axis. Linked evidence context Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. [2] context Kimberly-Clark is a public shareholder-governed company, not a household, caregiver, worker, or community-controlled producer. [1] context Major brands such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle, and Scott give Kimberly-Clark durable category power over recurring household needs. [3]
Solidarity with the Unemployed ? Treatment of exits and nonworkers, including severance, redeployment, and non-competes.	1 / 7	Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. That keeps Kimberly-Clark low on Solidarity with the Unemployed: the model provides little protection for people who leave, are excluded, or cannot bargain from employment. The value is above zero only where the linked record still shows some real function, constraint, or public value on this axis. Linked evidence context Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. [2] context Kimberly-Clark is a public shareholder-governed company, not a household, caregiver, worker, or community-controlled producer. [1] context Major brands such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle, and Scott give Kimberly-Clark durable category power over recurring household needs. [3]
Loss-Bearing Fidelity ? Willingness to absorb costs to preserve values, workers, users, and public obligations.	1 / 7	Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. That keeps Kimberly-Clark low on Loss-Bearing Fidelity: losses, hazards, or adjustment costs are routinely pushed onto workers, customers, suppliers, communities, or the public. The value is above zero only where the linked record still shows some real function, constraint, or public value on this axis. Linked evidence context Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. [2] context Kimberly-Clark is a public shareholder-governed company, not a household, caregiver, worker, or community-controlled producer. [1] context Major brands such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle, and Scott give Kimberly-Clark durable category power over recurring household needs. [3]
Market Conduct ? Pricing fairness, switching costs, lock-in, and rent extraction.	2 / 5	Major brands such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle, and Scott give Kimberly-Clark durable category power over recurring household needs. Major brands such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle, and Scott give Kimberly-Clark durable category power over recurring household needs. That places Kimberly-Clark in the middle of Market Conduct: the product has real value but still uses meaningful lock-in, gatekeeping, market power, or dependency. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Linked evidence Major brands such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle, and Scott give Kimberly-Clark durable category power over recurring household needs. [3]
Product Integrity ? Preservation of quality rather than degradation for monetization.	3 / 5	Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. That places Kimberly-Clark in the middle of Product Integrity: the product has real use value but is compromised by incentives, monetization, lock-in, quality degradation, or risk. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Linked evidence Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. [2]
Scale Integrity ? Whether growth improves or degrades fairness and accountability.	2 / 5	Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. That places Kimberly-Clark in the middle of Scale Integrity: scale brings useful reach but also weakens accountability, transparency, or local constraint. The value stays below the top tier because the linked record does not show full democratic control, non-extractive lock-in, or complete stakeholder protection on this axis. Linked evidence context Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work. [2] context Kimberly-Clark is a public shareholder-governed company, not a household, caregiver, worker, or community-controlled producer. [1] context Major brands such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle, and Scott give Kimberly-Clark durable category power over recurring household needs. [3]

Penalties

Penalty	Applied	Why this penalty
Ecological Harm ? Footprint, trajectory, irreversibility, culpability, and scale, including whether ecological harm is central to the model and continued after credible notice. Range: -30 to 0.	-3	Disposable diapers, wipes, tissue, paper products, plastics, pulp, and packaging create substantial recurring environmental burden. Disposable diapers, wipes, tissue, paper products, plastics, pulp, and packaging create substantial recurring environmental burden. That warrants a limited Ecological Harm penalty because the institution causes or defends ecological damage that is more than incidental to the model. The value is limited because the linked record shows a real problem but not one that dominates the profile on this axis. Linked evidence Disposable diapers, wipes, tissue, paper products, plastics, pulp, and packaging create substantial recurring environmental burden. [4]
Policy Capture ? Private-interest attempts to bend law, regulation, subsidies, taxes, enforcement, trade, labor, safety, competition, environmental, healthcare, housing, surveillance, civil-liberties, or consumer policy against workers, customers, citizens, affected communities, or ecological life. Public-interest advocacy is not penalized merely because it is lobbying. Range: -15 to 0.	-3	OpenLobby records KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION lobbying on consumer product safety, chemicals, trade with about $100K in spending across 8 filings; the reviewed filings document private… OpenLobby records KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION lobbying on consumer product safety, chemicals, trade with about $100K in spending across 8 filings; the reviewed filings document private institutional lobbying over public rules rather than a public-interest advocacy role. That warrants a limited Policy Capture penalty because private institutional pressure is being applied to public rules while affected people cannot democratically govern that agenda. The value is limited because the linked record shows a real problem but not one that dominates the profile on this axis. Linked evidence OpenLobby records KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION lobbying on consumer product safety, chemicals, trade with about $100K in spending across 8 filings; the reviewed filings document private institutional lobbying over public rules rather than a public-interest advocacy role. [10]
Toxic Products ? Current sale of products whose ordinary use, exposure, ingredients, residues, packaging, or formulation creates toxic, addictive, or consumer-safety risk. Food products receive at least light scrutiny for artificial colors, artificial flavors, petro-derived additives, pesticide residues, contaminants, endocrine-disrupting packaging, and ultra-processed formulation. Ordinary adult nightlife or alcohol service is not penalized by itself without evidence of predatory marketing, youth targeting, addiction-extractive design, or unusual product-safety misconduct. Range: -5 to 0.	-2	Diapers, wipes, menstrual products, tissue treatments, fragrances, and absorbent materials create intimate-contact exposure risks that consumers cannot fully assess at purchase. Diapers, wipes, menstrual products, tissue treatments, fragrances, and absorbent materials create intimate-contact exposure risks that consumers cannot fully assess at purchase. That warrants a substantial Toxic Products penalty because ordinary use, exposure, ingredients, residues, packaging, or formulation creates material toxic, addictive, or consumer-safety risk. The value is substantial but not at the floor because the linked record shows serious conduct without the strongest aggravating factors on this axis. Linked evidence Diapers, wipes, menstrual products, tissue treatments, fragrances, and absorbent materials create intimate-contact exposure risks that consumers cannot fully assess at purchase. [5]
Animal Testing ? Direct animal testing, contract animal testing, animal-testing-dependent product development, or business lines where current safety/regulatory approval normally relies on animal experiments. Stronger penalties apply where animal testing is core, repeated, non-optional, or avoidable; documented cruelty-free or non-animal methods reduce or eliminate the penalty. Range: -8 to 0.	-3	Cosmetics, beauty, personal-care, and household-product businesses have material animal-testing exposure through product and ingredient safety systems. Linked evidence Kimberly-Clark has cosmetics/personal-care sector exposure animal-testing exposure based on its listed business model and current profile description: A public personal-care and paper-products company selling Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle, Scott, and related tissue, diaper, and hygiene brands. Kimberly-Clark makes useful essentials, but disposable-product depend… [11]
Youth Capture ? Manipulative youth-directed marketing, youth-data or attention monetization, collectible/add-on traps, parasocial or identity capture, surprise mechanics, or treating young people as lower-disclosure consumers. Making useful toys or welcoming children is not itself penalized. Range: -5 to 0.	-1	Baby and child-care brands reach parents and children through recurring developmental and caregiving routines. Linked evidence Baby and child-care brands reach parents and children through recurring developmental and caregiving routines. [6]
Accountability Opacity ? Material opacity, reputation laundering, or hidden accountability structures that prevent public accountability. Range: -2 to 0.	-2	Materials, fragrances, absorbents, forestry impacts, and plastic waste are distributed across product and sustainability disclosures rather than being easy to compare at purchase. Materials, fragrances, absorbents, forestry impacts, and plastic waste are distributed across product and sustainability disclosures rather than being easy to compare at purchase. That warrants a severe Accountability Opacity penalty because material facts, risks, conflicts, ownership, or accountability information are obscured from the public. The value is near the floor because the conduct appears central, large-scale, repeated, or institutionally powerful rather than incidental. Linked evidence Materials, fragrances, absorbents, forestry impacts, and plastic waste are distributed across product and sustainability disclosures rather than being easy to compare at purchase. [7]
Surveillance Capture ? Invasive surveillance, unreasonably non-optional tracking, facial recognition, biometric identification, or AI behavior scanning of customers, workers, bystanders, or the public. Range: -5 to 0.	-1	Kimberly-Clark privacy materials cover consumer data from brand websites, promotions, digital interactions, and related services. Kimberly-Clark privacy materials cover consumer data from brand websites, promotions, digital interactions, and related services. That warrants a limited Surveillance Capture penalty because customers, workers, users, bystanders, or the public are exposed to invasive tracking, biometrics, or behavior scanning. The value is limited because the linked record shows a real problem but not one that dominates the profile on this axis. Linked evidence Kimberly-Clark privacy materials cover consumer data from brand websites, promotions, digital interactions, and related services. [8]
Ideological Disavowal ? Concealed ideology presented as neutrality, expertise, professional necessity, public-service administration, market inevitability, or non-ideological common sense while exercising power. Range: -3 to 0.	-1	The company presents disposable care-product dependence as ordinary household convenience while obscuring the institutional choice to organize care around branded disposables. The company presents disposable care-product dependence as ordinary household convenience while obscuring the institutional choice to organize care around branded disposables. That warrants a limited Ideological Disavowal penalty because the institution presents situated, contested choices as neutrality, expertise, inevitability, safety, or common sense. The value is limited because the linked record shows a real problem but not one that dominates the profile on this axis. Linked evidence The company presents disposable care-product dependence as ordinary household convenience while obscuring the institutional choice to organize care around branded disposables. [9]

Bonus Credits

No bonus credits applied in this version.

Confidence Basis

Confidence is computed from the evidence trail and review state, not typed into the profile by hand.

Medium 75/100

11 verified linked claims 11 direct axis claims 0 disputed claims 11/17 components covered

This confidence label measures the source-backed evidence trail. AI-scaffolded scores remain tentative until human review.

Claim confidence 13/20

11 verified linked claims

Source quality 17/18

Best source per verified claim, weighted by institutional reliability

Direct axis-specific claims 9/18

11 direct claims across 17 active components

Dispute load 12/12

0 disputed claims on this entity

Recency 10/10

Newest accepted timestamp: May 13, 2026

Reviewer status 7/12

Human-reviewed components score higher than AI scaffolding

Component coverage 6/10

11/17 evidence-bearing components have direct support

Evidence State

Profile stateAI draft / human-pending

VerificationUnverified

ConfidenceMedium confidence (AI)

ThoroughnessDeveloped (AI)

Correction routeUse “Challenge this rating” for factual errors, missing counterevidence, source problems, or calculation mistakes.

Company responseCompany representatives can submit source-backed corrections; payment never changes scores or reviewer authority.

Claims and Sources

Claims are the evidence record. Each claim needs a source link, axis category, status, confidence level, and timestamp before it can support a score.

* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.

1Kimberly-Clark is a public shareholder-governed company, not a household, caregiver, worker, or community-controlled producer.

Ownership Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

Kimberly-Clark annual reportsPrimary institutional record · 90%
Kimberly-Clark 2025 annual reportPrimary public record · 100%
Kimberly-Clark privacy policyOfficial self-description · 68%

2Kimberly-Clark sells practically important diapers, tissue, toilet paper, menstrual products, wipes, and hygiene goods used in ordinary care work.

Product Integrity Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

Kimberly-Clark annual reportsPrimary institutional record · 90%
Kimberly-Clark 2025 annual reportPrimary public record · 100%
Kimberly-Clark privacy policyOfficial self-description · 68%

3Major brands such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle, and Scott give Kimberly-Clark durable category power over recurring household needs.

Market Conduct Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

Kimberly-Clark annual reportsPrimary institutional record · 90%
Kimberly-Clark 2025 annual reportPrimary public record · 100%
Kimberly-Clark privacy policyOfficial self-description · 68%

4Disposable diapers, wipes, tissue, paper products, plastics, pulp, and packaging create substantial recurring environmental burden.

Ecological Harm Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

Kimberly-Clark annual reportsPrimary institutional record · 90%
Kimberly-Clark 2025 annual reportPrimary public record · 100%
Kimberly-Clark privacy policyOfficial self-description · 68%

5Diapers, wipes, menstrual products, tissue treatments, fragrances, and absorbent materials create intimate-contact exposure risks that consumers cannot fully assess at purchase.

Toxic Products Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

Kimberly-Clark annual reportsPrimary institutional record · 90%
Kimberly-Clark 2025 annual reportPrimary public record · 100%
Kimberly-Clark privacy policyOfficial self-description · 68%

6Baby and child-care brands reach parents and children through recurring developmental and caregiving routines.

Youth Capture Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

Kimberly-Clark annual reportsPrimary institutional record · 90%
Kimberly-Clark 2025 annual reportPrimary public record · 100%
Kimberly-Clark privacy policyOfficial self-description · 68%

7Materials, fragrances, absorbents, forestry impacts, and plastic waste are distributed across product and sustainability disclosures rather than being easy to compare at purchase.

Accountability Opacity Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

Kimberly-Clark annual reportsPrimary institutional record · 90%
Kimberly-Clark 2025 annual reportPrimary public record · 100%
Kimberly-Clark privacy policyOfficial self-description · 68%

8Kimberly-Clark privacy materials cover consumer data from brand websites, promotions, digital interactions, and related services.

Surveillance Capture Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

Kimberly-Clark annual reportsPrimary institutional record · 90%
Kimberly-Clark 2025 annual reportPrimary public record · 100%
Kimberly-Clark privacy policyOfficial self-description · 68%

9The company presents disposable care-product dependence as ordinary household convenience while obscuring the institutional choice to organize care around branded disposables.

Ideological Disavowal Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

Kimberly-Clark annual reportsPrimary institutional record · 90%
Kimberly-Clark 2025 annual reportPrimary public record · 100%
Kimberly-Clark privacy policyOfficial self-description · 68%

10OpenLobby records KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION lobbying on consumer product safety, chemicals, trade with about $100K in spending across 8 filings; the reviewed filings document private institutional lobbying over public rules rather than a public-interest advocacy role.

Policy Capture Verified Medium confidence AI-generated / human-pending May 11, 2026

AI scaffold

OpenLobby — KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION lobbying profileGeneral web source · 58%

11Kimberly-Clark has cosmetics/personal-care sector exposure animal-testing exposure based on its listed business model and current profile description: A public personal-care and paper-products company selling Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle, Scott, and related tissue, diaper, and hygiene brands. Kimberly-Clark makes useful essentials, but disposable-product depend…

Animal Testing Verified Medium confidence Human-reviewed May 11, 2026

Kimberly-Clark public siteGeneral web source · 58%
FDA: Animal Testing & CosmeticsPrimary public record · 100%

Alternatives

AGOOD58 Isthmus Engineering worker cooperative engineering firm · same market AGOOD55 New Era Windows worker cooperative manufacturer · same market BQUALIFIED49 MONDRAGON Corporation cooperative federation · Spain BQUALIFIED42 Scott Bader commonwealth-owned chemical company · United Kingdom

Competitors

AGOOD58 Isthmus Engineering worker cooperative engineering firm · same market AGOOD55 New Era Windows worker cooperative manufacturer · same market DEXTRACTIVE33 Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories employee-owned engineering company · same market DEXTRACTIVE23 Recology employee-owned resource recovery company · same market DEXTRACTIVE12 W. L. Gore & Associates private employee-owned company · same market DEXTRACTIVE9 Henkel public consumer brands and adhesives company · same market DEXTRACTIVE5 Church & Dwight public household and personal-care manufacturer · same market DEXTRACTIVE5 Colgate-Palmolive public oral-care and consumer-products company · same market

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