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Colgate-Palmolive

Colgate Palmolive Company is a multinational corporation in the business of the provision of products such as soaps, detergents, and oral hygiene products such as toothpaste and toothbrushes. Under its "Hill's" brand, it is also a manufacturer of vetinary products.

History

In 1806 William Colgate opened up a soapmaking concern in New York called Colgate & Company. It was not until the 1830's that the company began selling individual bars in uniform weights. In 1872 Colgate introduced Cashmere Bouquet, a perfumed soap.

In the Western United States, the B.J. Johnson Company was making a soap entirely of palm and olive oil. The soap was popular enough to rename their company after it - Palmolive.

A Kansas based soap manufacturer known as the Peet Brothers merged with Palmolive to become Palmolive-Peet. In 1928, Palmolive-Peet joined the Colgate Company to create the Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company. In 1953 "Peet" was dropped from the title, leaving only "Colgate-Palmolive Company".

See also: transesterification.