in midtown manhattan new york city type public traded as nyse cl s & p 500 component industry consumer goods founded 1806 ; 210 years ago 1806 founder william colgate headquarters 300 park avenue new york city new york united states area served worldwide key people ian m. cook ceo products cleaning agents personal care products revenue us 16.034 billion 2015 1 operating income us 2.789 billion 2015 1 net income us 1.384 billion 2015 1 total assets us 11.958 billion 2015 1 total equity us 299 million 2015 1 number of employees 37 900 2015 2 website www.colgatepalmolive.com the colgate palmolive company is an american worldwide consumer products company focused on the production distribution and provision of household health care and personal products such as soaps detergents and oral hygiene products including toothpaste and toothbrushes . under its hill s brand it is also a manufacturer of veterinary products . the company s corporate offices are on park avenue in midtown manhattan new york city . 3 contents 1 history 1.1 educational and community involvement 2 ethical record 2.1 environmental record 3 corporate governance 3.1 employment diversity 4 brands 5 discontinued products and former brands 6 facilities 7 advertising 8 references 9 external links history edit 1922 advertisement for palmolive soap in 1806 devout baptist english immigrant soap and candle maker william colgate established a starch soap and candle factory on dutch street in new york city under the name william colgate & company . in 1833 he suffered a severe heart attack stopping his business sales ; after a convalescence he continued with his business . in the 1840s the firm began selling individual cakes of soap in uniform weights . in 1857 colgate died and the company was reorganized as colgate & company under the management of his devout baptist son samuel colgate who did not want to continue the business but thought it would be the right thing to do . in 1872 he introduced cashmere bouquet a perfumed soap . in 1873 the firm introduced its first colgate toothpaste an aromatic toothpaste sold in jars . 4 in 1896 the company sold the first toothpaste in a tube colgate ribbon dental cream invented by dentist washington sheffield . also in 1896 colgate hired martin ittner and under his direction founded one of the first applied research labs . 5 by 1908 they initiated mass sales of toothpaste in tubes . william s other son james boorman colgate was a primary trustee of colgate university formerly madison university . 1915 magazine ad in milwaukee wisconsin the b.j. johnson company was making a soap entirely of palm oil and olive oil the formula of which was developed by b.j. johnson in 1898 . the soap was popular enough to rename their company after it palmolive . 6 around the start of the 20th century palmolive which contained both palm and olive oils was the world s best selling soap . extensive advertising included the radio programs the palmolive hour 1927 1931 and palmolive beauty box theater 1934 1937 . a missouri based soap manufacturer known as peet brothers merged with palmolive to become palmolive peet . in 1928 palmolive peet bought the colgate company to create the colgate palmolive peet company . in 1953 peet was dropped from the title leaving only colgate palmolive company the current name . colgate palmolive has long been in competition with procter & gamble the world s largest soap and detergent maker . p & g introduced its tide laundry detergent shortly after world war ii and thousands of consumers turned from colgate s soaps to the new product . colgate lost its number one place in the toothpaste market when p & g added fluoride to its toothpaste . in the beginning of tv colgate palmolive wished to compete with p & g as a sponsor of soap operas and sponsored many soaps in full or in part including the doctors . george henry lesch president ceo and chairman of the board of colgate palmolive in the 1960s and 1970s during that time transformed it into a modern company with major restructuring . in 2005 colgate sold the under performing brands fab dynamo arctic power abc cold power and fresh start as well as the license of the ajax brand for laundry detergents in the us canada and puerto rico to phoenix brands llc as part of their plan to focus on their higher margin oral personal and pet care products . 7 8 in 2006 colgate palmolive announced the intended acquisition of tom s of maine a leading maker of natural toothpaste for us 100 million . 9 tom s of maine was founded by tom chappell in 1970 . today colgate has numerous subsidiary organizations spanning 200 countries but it is publicly listed in only two the united states and india . on october 25 2012 the company announced it would cut 2 310 workers or 6 % of its workforce by the end of 2016 in a push to make the consumer products company more efficient . 10 11 educational and community involvement edit in 1890 madison university in new york state was renamed colgate university in honor of the colgate family following decades of financial support and involvement . 12 the colgate palmolive company has sponsored a non profit track meet open to women of all ages called the colgate women s games . 13 the colgate women s games is the nation s largest amateur track series open to all girls from elementary school through college . held at brooklyn s pratt institute competitors participate in preliminary meets and semi finals over five weekends throughout january . finalists compete for trophies and educational grants in aid from colgate palmolive company at new york city s madison square garden in february . for more than 20 years the company supports the starlight children foundation which is a non profit organization dedicated to help seriously ill children and their families . the mission is to help children to cope with pain fear and isolation through entertainment family activities and education . 2012 ethical record edit the ethical consumer research association once recommended that its readers not buy colgate because of its use of animal testing though this is no longer the case . citation needed in 2011 colgate palmolive was one of the first companies recognized by peta people for the ethical treatment of animals under the new working for regulatory change category for companies that test on animals only when mandated by government regulations and are actively seeking alternatives to animal testing . 14 this relates to the corporation s decision to continue to participate in the profitable chinese market where some animal testing is still a regulatory requirement . 15 other ethical companies have chosen to decline entry to this market . 16 in 2006 colgate palmolive acquired an 84 % stake in tom s of maine . 9 17 in 2011 the company chose to retain the use of the antibacterial agent triclosan in its market leading total toothpaste range despite withdrawing it from several other product ranges following concerns about triclosan s impact on health and the environment . 18 environmental record edit products of the colgate palmolive company specifically total brand toothpaste contain triclosan . this ingredient has a questionable impact on waterways and marine life . colgate consumes approximately 0.2 percent of the combined palm oil output of malaysia indonesia and thailand 19 the cultivation of which is known for environmental impacts on a global level including deforestation loss of natural habitats of critically endangered species and increased greenhouse gas emissions . colgate palmolive as a successor to the mennen company is one of about 300 companies held potentially responsible for hazardous waste at the chemsol federal superfund site in piscataway new jersey . 20 their involvement in this site may have contributed to the contamination of an estimated 18 500 cubic yards 14 100 m3 of soil with volatile organic compounds vocs pcbs and lead off site . a proposed 23 million agreement with the government and state of new jersey would require colgate palmolive and the other involved companies to pay for the cleanup of this hazardous waste that is contaminating the soil as well as the groundwater . 21 the company completed a leed silver certified manufacturing plant in morristown tennessee in march 2008 which was the first of its kind in the u.s. the new leed silver certified plant in tennessee produces the colgate total toothpaste . 22 colgate palmolive received the 2012 safe in sound excellence in hearing loss prevention award . 23 corporate governance edit current members of the board of directors of colgate palmolive are ian m. cook chairman president and ceo john t. cahill ellen hancock richard kogan delano lewis pedro reinhard stephen sadove helene gayle nikesh arora joseph jimenez employment diversity edit colgate palmolive was named one of the 100 best companies for working mothers by working mother magazine . 24 the 2012 human rights campaign report card on american businesses gave colgate an a for its support of diversity in the workplace . brands edit this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . february 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message colgate now markets a broadly diversified mix of products in the united states and other countries . major product areas include household and personal care products food products health care and industrial supplies and sports and leisure time equipment . afta lotion anthony longlife soap anbesol ajax axion cleanser caprice shampoo mexico cibaca india cold power colgate toothpaste colodent poland crystal white octagon cuddly australia dermassage dentagard toothpaste germany dynamo detergent elmex toothpaste fab detergent fabuloso fluffy australia fresh start detergent freska ra mexico gard shampoo hac akir turkey hill s pet food hurricane detergent australia irish spring kolynos la croix bleach france mennen meridol toothpaste murphy oil soap palmolive profiden toothpaste spain protex sanex 25 softsoap soft as soap liquid soap australia soupline france speed stick spree detergent australia suavitel tahiti liquid soap france belgium switzerland . teen spirit tender care soap tender care diapers tom s of maine ultra brite discontinued products and former brands edit ad detergent 26 brisk fluoride toothpaste 27 burst detergent cashmere bouquet soap 28 cold power detergent known in canada as arctic power australian and new zealand rights sold to henkel in may 2015 colgate tooth powder 29 30 colgate toothpaste with chlorophyll 31 32 halo shampoo 33 lustre cr me shampoo 34 octagon soap 35 cherish cinnamon flavored toothpaste cherish toothpaste logo cherish toothpaste box palmolive rapid shave 36 soaky bubble bath for kids 37 super suds detergent 38 39 swerl liquid cleanser 40 vel dishwashing detergent 41 coleo soap 42 kolynos toothpaste notes while detergent brands continue to be manufactured and sold by colgate palmolive in some countries in the united states they have been sold to another company phoenix brands and are no longer made by c p in the u.s. 43 in may 2015 colgate palmolive sold its australian laundry detergents and pre wash brands to henkel for us 245 million 220 million . 44 colgate palmolive has divested its laundry detergents business in colombia which was in turn acquired by unilever and some asian countries which was acquired by procter & gamble . 45 still being made by colgate palmolive internationally but no longer available in the u.s. while still bearing the colgate name octagon bar soap is now manufactured by columbus washboard company . vintage commercials for many of these discontinued c p products can still be seen on youtube . facilities edit in the u.s. the company operates approximately 60 properties of which 14 are owned . 46 major u.s. manufacturing and warehousing facilities used by the oral personal and home care segment