Linters, Inc. Purely Cotton Declares War On Wood.

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 15, 1998--

Asks consumers: "Cotton versus Wood?

Which would you rather use for your personal hygiene?"

Linters, Inc., a Seattle-based manufacturer of Purely Cotton(tm) tissue products, began an aggressive national rollout campaign today to revolutionize the $17 billion tissue category. Purely Cotton(tm) products are the first and only bathroom and facial tissues to be made from cotton; all other tissues are wood fiber based and contain no cotton.

"As the only 100% cotton tissue products on the market, we see an opportunity to offer consumers a choice they've never had before," said Tim Paterson-Brown, Chairman & CEO of Linters, Inc. "The wide acceptance of Purely Cotton(tm) into new markets is attributable largely to the products' health and personal hygiene benefits."

Purely Cotton(tm) products currently are available in the Pacific Northwest, Northern California, the Midwest and the Northeast. The national advertising anddistribution campaign will extend to New York, the West Coast, and heartland markets immediately, and throughout the rest of the United States over the next twelve months.

The introduction of Purely Cotton's 100% cotton-based products represents the first innovation in the tissue market in nearly a century and is heralded as a breakthrough in personal hygiene by dermatologists, obstetricians, and consumers. Initial dermatological and other laboratory studies have supplied mounting evidence that cotton-based tissues are less abrasive, better in cleaning dirt and absorbing water, leave behind substantially fewer lint particles, and are better for sensitive skin than wood based products. In addition, Purely Cotton(tm) bathroom tissue has been tested against wood fiber based tissue on women after childbirth and has been found to have "significant" advantages in easing discomfort during the natural healing of the perineum.

"The question is Cotton versus wood - Which would you rather use for your personal hygiene?" asks Willy Paterson-Brown, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Linters, Inc. "Cotton tissue is simply superior to wood based tissue because of the difference in raw materials. It cleans better, absorbs better and leaves less residual fibers on the skin after use."

Linters, Inc. has developed a patent-pending process that turns short-fiber cotton into a full range of tissue products. Purely Cotton(tm) is actually made from linters, a short fiber cotton by-product; machines shave this fiber from cottonseeds. Purely Cotton(tm) bathroom and facial tissues are naturally biodegradable so they are safe for use in septic systems and will not clog toilets or drains. Cotton is a renewable resource.

Total sales of bathroom and facial tissues in the United States amounted to nearly $5 billion in 1997. Sixty-five percent of these sales occurred in grocery stores and supermarkets. Linters, Inc. has achieved 2-3% market share in the regions it has introduced Purely Cotton(tm) products and expects this share to increase markedly when distribution extends nationally. The company expects to sell 45 million rolls of bathroom tissue this year--up from eight million in 1997--and five million boxes of facial tissue. This is the first year they have sold facial tissue.

Tim and Willy Paterson-Brown, brothers, were born and raised in Hawick, Scotland, and currently reside in Seattle, Washington. They co-founded Linters, Inc. in 1994.

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