KIMBERLY-CLARK UNVEILS PROPRIETARY ALTERNATIVE NATURAL FIBER INNOVATION PROGRAM TO ADVANCE ITS "BETTER CARE FOR A BETTER WORLD" COMMITMENT

Rhea-AI Summary

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ: KMB) announced a proprietary Alternative Natural Fiber innovation program aimed at creating a next-generation, agriculture-based materials platform for its hygiene products, supporting its “Better Care for a Better World” commitment.

Company scientists developed a patented technology that transforms fibers from hesperaloe, a rapidly renewable, low-water-use succulent native to the U.S. Southwest, into sustainable material intended to deliver high performance, quality, and sustainability. The program is based in Yuma, Arizona, where Kimberly-Clark is building a pilot facility, hiring specialized local talent, and collaborating with growers, technical experts, and community stakeholders across the broader Southwest to evaluate hesperaloe’s potential as a year-round agricultural and economic opportunity. According to the company, the alternative fiber could eventually be integrated across its hygiene portfolio, strengthening fiber supply resilience and advancing responsible resource stewardship.

News Explained

Testing continues and products using the alternative fiber are described as having potential future use, so this disclosure establishes an R&D and pilot-stage program rather than a completed change to current hygiene-product manufacturing.

AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

See more from StockTitan in Google Search and AI answers. Adds StockTitan as a preferred source · opens Google

Add on Google Not now

Company Pioneers Next-Generation, Agriculture-Based Materials Platform to Reshape
How It Manufactures Hygiene Products

DALLAS, Aug. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ: KMB) today unveiled a proprietary innovation program focused on advancing alternative natural fibers as the foundation for a next-generation, high-performance, sustainable materials platform, furthering the Company's commitment to Better Care for a Better World. Company researchers and scientists developed a patented technology platform by transforming fibers from a rapidly renewable succulent plant into sustainable material. This breakthrough has the potential to power the Company's future hygiene products with enhanced performance, quality, and sustainability.*

"This represents an exciting moonshot for Kimberly-Clark and the culmination of more than two decades of materials and plant science expertise," said Craig Slavtcheff, Chief Research and Development Officer at Kimberly-Clark. "We have developed a highly proprietary technology platform rooted in alternative fiber research and believe that these novel natural fibers will form our next great materials platform – an innovation with the potential to reshape the hygiene category. While testing continues, we are optimistic by early results and believe this material will provide curve-bending performance in our products while strengthening our long-term growth and supply chain resilience and accelerating our journey toward a future less dependent on traditional fiber sources."

The Alternative Natural Fiber program reflects Kimberly-Clark's consumer-led innovation platform model, which focuses on making strategic investments in disruptive technologies. This approach aims to deliver the best product at the lowest cost, while upholding responsible stewardship of the resources essential to the Company's offerings. Kimberly-Clark expects products developed with this alternative fiber to support its strategy of focusing on higher-value, differentiated spaces where it has the right to win.

"Kimberly-Clark is at its best when we harness the power of science to solve real human needs and deliver Better Care for a Better World," said Jeff Melucci, Chief Strategy, Business Development, and Administrative Officer at Kimberly-Clark. "Our Alternative Natural Fiber program is an example of our Powering Care strategy in motion and how we are pushing the boundaries of what we can deliver to consumers to meaningfully enhance how they experience products they rely on every day. We are energized by all the ways this promising innovation can reset the standards in our product categories, while delivering the care consumers seek from us and ongoing value to our shareholders."

ABOUT THE ALTERNATIVE NATURAL FIBER INNOVATION PROGRAM

After evaluating more than 70 fiber candidates across performance, sustainability and cost criteria, Kimberly-Clark research scientists identified a promising solution in hesperaloe, a native, low-water-use plant that thrives in the arid climate of the Southwest United States. The Company's innovation program, based in Yuma, Arizona, has demonstrated this plant and its proprietary technologies yield a rapidly renewable natural fiber source that carries the performance and quality standards consumers expect from Kimberly-Clark's trusted brands.

As part of this innovation program, Kimberly-Clark is building a pilot facility in Yuma and hiring local, specialized talent to support it. The Company is also collaborating with growers, technical experts, and community stakeholders in Arizona, California, and across the broader U.S. Southwest to evaluate hesperaloe's potential as a year-round source of agricultural and economic opportunity. Compared with several crops currently grown in the region, hesperaloe requires less water to cultivate, offering potential benefits for growers, local communities, and regional water stewardship efforts.

Kimberly-Clark believes its Alternative Natural Fiber has the potential to be integrated across its hygiene products portfolio, accelerating its efforts to deliver consumer-inspired, science-driven innovation, strengthening its long-term fiber supply resilience, and advancing responsible stewardship of natural resources.

*Based on internal Kimberly-Clark research and development testing of Alternative Natural Fibers compared with traditional forest-based fibers used in the Company's current hygiene products.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ: KMB) and its trusted brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries and territories. Our portfolio of brands, including Huggies, Kleenex, Scott, Kotex, Cottonelle, Poise, Depend, Pull-Ups, Goodnites, Intimus, Plenitud, Sweety, Softex, Viva and WypAll, hold No. 1 or No. 2 share positions in approximately 70 countries. Our company's purpose is to deliver Better Care for a Better World. We are committed to using sustainable practices designed to support a healthy planet, build strong communities, and enable our business to thrive for decades to come. To keep up with the latest news and learn more about the company's more than 150-year history of innovation, visit the Kimberly-Clark website.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain matters contained in this press release concerning our Alternative Natural Fiber Innovation Program, including the potential benefits of the program and our planned development of products, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are based upon management's expectations and beliefs concerning future events impacting Kimberly-Clark. There can be no assurance that these future events will occur as anticipated or that our results will be as estimated. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update them. The assumptions used as a basis for the forward-looking statements include many estimates that, among other things, depend on the continued successful development of the Alternative Natural Fiber Innovation Program, including the results of ongoing testing and pilot-scale production, the prices and availability of our raw materials, supply chain disruptions, disruptions in the capital and credit markets, severe weather conditions, energy costs, and general economic and political conditions in the markets in which we do business, and could affect the realization of these estimates. The factors described under Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, or in our other SEC filings, among others, could cause our future results to differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf. Other factors not presently known to us or that we presently consider immaterial could also affect our business operations and financial results.

Kimberly-Clark Contacts:

Investor Relations - Christopher Jakubik, CFA, KC.InvestorRelations@kcc.com

Media Relations - Kyrsten Aspegren, media.relations@kcc.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kimberly-clark-unveils-proprietary-alternative-natural-fiber-innovation-program-to-advance-its-better-care-for-a-better-world-commitment-302841186.html

SOURCE Kimberly-Clark Corporation

FAQ

What did Kimberly-Clark (KMB) announce on August 3, 2026 about alternative natural fibers?

Kimberly-Clark announced a proprietary Alternative Natural Fiber innovation program on August 3, 2026. According to Kimberly-Clark, the initiative focuses on hesperaloe-based fibers to build a next-generation sustainable materials platform for future hygiene products, targeting enhanced performance, quality, and environmental stewardship.

What is hesperaloe and why is Kimberly-Clark (KMB) using it in its new fiber program?

Hesperaloe is a native, low-water-use succulent plant that thrives in the arid U.S. Southwest. According to Kimberly-Clark, its innovation program found hesperaloe offers a rapidly renewable natural fiber source that can meet performance, quality, and sustainability standards for future hygiene products.

How does Kimberly-Clark’s Alternative Natural Fiber program support its sustainability strategy for KMB shareholders?

The program aims to reduce reliance on traditional fiber sources by developing hesperaloe-based materials. According to Kimberly-Clark, this may strengthen long-term fiber supply resilience, support responsible resource stewardship, and align with its strategy to focus on higher-value, differentiated product spaces.

Where is Kimberly-Clark building its pilot facility for the Alternative Natural Fiber innovation program?

Kimberly-Clark is building a pilot facility in Yuma, Arizona to support the program. According to Kimberly-Clark, the site will host specialized local talent and technologies to process hesperaloe and evaluate its feasibility as a year-round agricultural and economic opportunity.

How might Kimberly-Clark’s new alternative natural fiber affect future KMB hygiene products?

Kimberly-Clark believes its alternative natural fiber could be integrated across its hygiene portfolio over time. According to Kimberly-Clark, internal testing suggests the hesperaloe-based fibers may support high performance and quality while advancing sustainability and resource stewardship objectives.

What partnerships is Kimberly-Clark pursuing in the U.S. Southwest for its hesperaloe fiber initiative?

Kimberly-Clark is collaborating with growers, technical experts, and community stakeholders in Arizona, California, and the broader U.S. Southwest. According to Kimberly-Clark, these collaborations evaluate hesperaloe’s potential as a year-round agricultural opportunity and its benefits for regional water stewardship.