Adult Underwear No Longer Being Given the Silent Treatment

As many as 25 million Americans suffer from it, but most are too embarrassed even to mention its name. Incontinence.

Preparing for the needs of millions of aging baby boomers, Kimberly-Clark Corp. of Irving, Texas,  has redesigned its Depend line of adult underwear for more comfort and protection and launched a comprehensive marketing campaign to break down the stigma.

"There's a great opportunity here," said Mark Cammarota, Depend's brand director. "Boomers are demanding products that will let them lead normal lives as they age, and they're more open than previous generations about discussing their needs."

Since practically the day they appeared on store shelves in 1984 and replaced a hodgepodge of impractical and ineffective homemade creations, Depends have been both a subject of awkward humor and a lifesaver for those who use them.

Sometimes derisively called "adult diapers," absorbent underwear is big money. Urinary incontinence now represents a $1.2 billion-a-year retail business in North America, and Kimberly-Clark's products account for about 55 percent of that market.

With its latest generation of Depends, the company has replaced its unisex underwear with male and female designs tailored for each gender's anatomy. The new versions fit each gender more snugly and provide better protection where most needed.

"Besides the practical improvements, we've also tried to address our customers' emotional concerns," Cammarota said. "Some women didn't think our unisex Depends were feminine enough, and many men didn't think they were masculine enough."

There's now a pink waistband for women and a blue one for men.

"I'm amazed at how long it's taken the industry to recognize that men and women are different, but I applaud Kimberly-Clark for taking the lead," said Nancy Muller, executive director of the National Association for Continence, an advocacy group.

Shortly after Kimberly-Clark's announcement, a major competitor, SCA Personal Care, said it, too, would begin selling gender-specific underwear in North America. Once known as Serenity, SCA's products now carry the Tena brand name.