Playtex is an American brand name for undergarments, baby products, gloves, feminine hygiene products, and sunscreen. The brand began in 1947 when International Latex Corporation (ILC) created a division named Playtex to produce and sell latex products. Playtex was the first to advertise undergarments on national television in 1955, written by Howard Shavelson at Olgilvie and Mather, and the first to show a woman wearing only a bra from the waist-up in a commercial in 1977. They developed space suits for the Apollo program. Playtex-branded tampons were introduced in the 1960s and became the primary competition to incumbent Tampax. Playtex invented the plastic tampon applicator in 1973. It was one of the tampon manufacturers that were sued for aggressively advertising over-absorbent tampons that led to toxic shock syndrome. Playtex was acquired by Esmark in 1975, and then by Beatrice Foods in 1985. A year later, it was acquired for $1.25 billion, and its cosmetics brands were sold to Revlon. In 1988, Playtex split into Playtex Apparel Inc. and Playtex Products LLC. Playtex Apparel was sold to Sara Lee Corporation in 1991, and to Hanesbrands in 2007. History Early history Abram Nathaniel Spanel founded the International Latex Corporation in Rochester, New York, in 1932 to produce latex products such as bathing caps, swimwear, and baby pants. ILC moved to Dover, Delaware, in 1939, making it the first large, non-agricultural business in the city. ILC did not produce apparel for adults until the introduction of the Living Girdle in 1940, after patenting a method of manufacturing latex girdles that would not tear at the seams if they had a small tear or hole. The Living Girdle was advertised with images of mobility and comfort, such as women playing tennis or leaping while wearing it, though the solid rubber girdle was actually very uncomfortable. During World War II, the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the Japanese invasion of Malaysia cut off Allied manufacturers from their largest sources of latex. Supplies ran out and demand fell for consumer products, so ILC halted production; sales did not resume until 1946. The company almost went out of business during the war, so it created an industrial division to find government and military applications for latex. Playtex was founded in 1947 as one of four divisions into which ILC re-organized. Its name was a portmanteau of "play" and "latex", reflecting its focus on latex products. Playtex's marketing