Private company

Always

American feminine hygiene brand by Procter & Gamble

Always is an American brand of menstrual hygiene products, including maxi pads, ultra thin pads, pantyliners, disposable underwear for night-time wear, and vaginal wipes. A sister company of Procter & Gamble, it was first invented and introduced in the United States in 1983 by Tom Osborn, a mid-level employee at Procter & Gamble, then nationally in May 1984. By the end of 1984, Always had also been introduced internationally in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Arab world, Pakistan and Africa.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 20, 2026.

Overview

1983Founded1
Always Infinity Overnight
Photo: Stilfehler, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

Always is an American brand of menstrual hygiene products, including maxi pads, ultra thin pads, pantyliners, disposable underwear for night-time wear, and vaginal wipes. A sister company of Procter & Gamble, it was first invented and introduced in the United States in 1983 by Tom Osborn, a mid-level employee at Procter & Gamble, then nationally in May 1984. By the end of 1984, Always had also been introduced internationally in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Arab world, Pakistan and Africa. Despite the Always' pads runaway international success, Procter & Gamble almost fired Tom Osborn twice in the early 1980s as he was developing this product.2

Products and brands

Products

Always sells sanitary protection products like sanitary pads, tampons, and pantyliners across its markets. It sells them under the brand names of Whisper, Lines, Orkid, Evax, and Ausonia. In some countries, including Cambodia and Kenya, it sells only sanitary pads and pantyliners.

Pakistan

In 2001 Pakistani versions of the brand were:

Dreamzzz (Extra Long Night)

Ultra Herbal 3in1

Read the full text

Ultra 3in1 (Long & Extra Long)

Marketing

In June 2020, Always launched a new campaign against the backdrop of the global pandemic and national lockdowns. "The New Brave" is a campaign designed to show the resilience of women around the world – facing the challenges of the new world with courage and determination. The campaign highlighted the self-empowerment of women during the pandemic, including those fighting isolation at home, not seeing family for long periods of time, managing remote work and school, teaching and learning with children and adapting to a new definition.

The "Like a Girl" campaign, which was released worldwide with more focus on U.S. and African markets, from Leo Burnett won the 2015 Emmy Award for outstanding commercial. Lauren Greenfield directed the spot, which debuted in June 2014 and aired during Super Bowl XLIX. The commercial asked the question "When did doing something 'like a girl' become an insult?" Running, throwing, or fighting like a girl are seen by adults as equivalent to weak, but by young girls as strong.

The school program run by Whisper (in India) has helped teach young girls about female hygiene in a country where menstruation is still a big taboo. Always has also undertaken similar programs in Kenya, Nigeria, and other parts of Africa to raise awareness about menstruation, celebrate Menstrual Hygiene Day, and provide easy access to sanitary products to schoolgirls.

The 'Always Keeping Girls in School' program undertaken by Always Africa is an ongoing attempt by the brand to raise awareness about menstruation and period poverty in the region. In Kenya, where Always sells sanitary pads (blue and pink variant) and pantyliners, this program has helped thousands of schoolgoing teenage girls learn about period and menstrual hygiene. Always Kenya also routinely distributes sanitary pads and other menstrual products to schoolgirls to motivate them to use hygienic sanitary napkins instead of cloth and tissue papers. This is done via P&G's FemCare unit, which is responsible for the safe production of sanitary pads and tampons.

Educational marketing for the product includes the company's BeingGirl website. This program was also shared in Kenya and other African nations via Always Africa's official social platforms.

In 2018, Always ran a campaign called End Period Poverty, which would donate one pad to a woman/girl in need for every package sold. This campaign primarily ran in African countries like Kenya to raise awareness about period poverty and menstrual health.

In 2019, the brand removed the female symbol from their marketing to be inclusive of transgender people who menstruate.

In 2020, the brand claimed that 60% of women wore the wrong-size pad, and built a campaign around this idea.

From Wikipedia’s article on Always (Whisper) (brand), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Subsidiaries and ownership

Owners

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1983Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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