Who Makes Scott Paper Products?
Scott brand paper products are made by Kimberly-Clark Corporation of Irving, Texas. Kimberly-Clark acquired Scott Paper Company in a $9.4 billion deal in 1995.
Quick Answer
Scott brand toilet paper, paper towels and napkins are made by Kimberly-Clark Corporation, the Irving, Texas based consumer products company. Kimberly-Clark acquired the Scott Paper Company in December 1995 in a 9.4 billion dollar stock swap and folded the Scott portfolio into its family care division.
Scott 1000 (the 1000 sheet single ply toilet paper), Scott Comfort Plus, Scott ComfortPlus Mega Rolls and Scott shop towels are all Kimberly-Clark products, made primarily at KC mills in Mobile, Alabama; New Milford, Connecticut; and Everett, Washington.
The Parent Company
Kimberly-Clark is a Fortune 200 consumer products company with about 20 billion dollars in annual revenue. Its brands include Huggies diapers, Kleenex facial tissue, Kotex feminine care, Cottonelle bath tissue, Depend adult care, Poise, Pull-Ups, GoodNites, Viva paper towels and Scott.
The Scott portfolio is now a mid tier value segment within KC's consumer bath tissue and paper towel businesses, sitting one shelf below Cottonelle (bath tissue) and Viva (paper towels) in KC's good-better-best structure.
How Scott Started
Scott Paper Company was founded in Philadelphia in 1879 by brothers E. Irvin and Clarence Scott, initially as a paper bag business. In 1890 the brothers launched Waldorf Tissue, the first branded toilet paper marketed to retail consumers in the US.
Scott dominated the US toilet paper category through most of the twentieth century, expanded internationally after World War II, and diversified into paper towels with the ScotTowels brand in 1907. Scott acquired the Mexican tissue maker Sanborns and later merged with S.D. Warren, becoming one of the largest paper companies in the world.
Sunbeam era CEO Al Dunlap took over in 1994, aggressively cut costs and sold Scott to Kimberly-Clark in 1995. The deal doubled KC's tissue business and gave it the number one global position in bath tissue.
Where Scott Products Are Made
Scott tissue and towel products for the US market are manufactured primarily at Kimberly-Clark mills in Mobile, Alabama; New Milford, Connecticut; Everett, Washington; and Ogden, Utah. These sites run integrated tissue machines that take pulp and convert it into finished consumer rolls under one roof.
Scott shop towels (the blue automotive style towels) are made at a specialty converting site in Beech Island, South Carolina. Scott commercial products distributed under the Scott Professional line for hospitals, restaurants and offices are made at KC's away from home paper facilities.
Scott products sold in Latin America are largely produced at KC de Mexico plants; European Scott sales are handled by different local brands and are much smaller.
How Scott Compares To Rivals
Scott 1000 competes on value against Angel Soft (Georgia Pacific), Great Value (Walmart, multi sourced) and Amazon Basics tissue. Its single ply, 1000 sheet format is designed for households and small businesses that prioritize sheet count and long roll life over softness.
Scott ComfortPlus is a two ply product that competes more directly with Charmin Basic and Cottonelle Clean Care. Independent testing typically ranks Scott below Charmin and Cottonelle on softness but ahead of them on cost per sheet.
How To Trace Any Product Back To Its Manufacturer
- Read the fine print on the label. US and EU packaging law requires either the manufacturer name or a "distributed by" address. That is your starting point.
- Search the company's SEC filings. Public parent companies list subsidiaries and manufacturing sites in their 10-K annual reports.
- Check the regulator establishment number. For food, drugs, cosmetics, cars and appliances, the plant of origin can often be looked up in public regulatory databases.
- Follow the money. Press releases about acquisitions and joint ventures are the fastest way to spot who really controls a brand today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Scott the same company as Cottonelle? Both brands are owned by Kimberly-Clark. Scott is positioned as the value tier and Cottonelle as the premium bath tissue.
Where are Scott shop towels made? At a Kimberly-Clark specialty converting facility in Beech Island, South Carolina.
Is Scott toilet paper septic safe? Yes. Scott 1000 is one of the most commonly recommended tissues for septic systems because its single ply construction breaks down quickly.
Who owned Scott before Kimberly-Clark? Scott Paper Company was independent from 1879 until 1995, when Kimberly-Clark acquired it in a 9.4 billion dollar stock swap.
What This Means For The Shopper
Understanding who makes Scott paper products today matters for a few practical reasons. First, corporate ownership tells you who is legally responsible for the product, who handles a warranty claim, and where a safety recall would come from. Second, ownership determines the supply chain: brands owned by the same parent often share components, factories, technology and even entire platforms, which is why you sometimes see nearly identical products under different labels at very different prices.
Third, ownership tells you which alternatives are functionally the same product. Whether it is a paper mill, a contract apparel factory or an auto assembly line, the same site frequently produces for several brands at once under different specifications. That is why store brand and lower priced siblings can be a smart substitute for the marquee Scott product when you do not need the marketing.
What To Watch Going Forward
Consumer brand ownership keeps consolidating. In the past five years alone, several major consumer brands (including some that makes Scott paper products) have moved between parent companies through spin offs, sales and joint ventures. Expect more of the same over the next five years as conglomerates rationalize portfolios and as private equity continues to reshape mid cap consumer brands.
If you buy from Scott regularly and care about who profits from your purchase, it is worth checking the label, sticker or badge every year or two. Ownership changes are usually announced in trade press but rarely make consumer headlines, so most shoppers miss them until the packaging or branding gets a subtle redesign to reflect the new parent company.
Bottom Line
Scott is a Kimberly-Clark brand and has been since December 1995. It sits in the value tier of KC's bath tissue lineup, made in Alabama, Connecticut, Washington and Utah, and it remains the go to single ply pick for anyone prioritizing sheet count and septic friendliness over premium softness.