The Owens-Corning Company produced the first fibreglass insulation in 1938.
While fibreglass fibres are naturally transparent, fibreglass batts are held together with a binder that can be dyed. In 1979, Owens-Corning licensed the Pink Panther character from the United Artists movie as its marketing mascot and coloured its product to match. The company trademarked the unique shade of pink in 1986. This was the first time a company had trademarked a colour. Principle 32 – Colour Changes
At the time Owens-Corning was embroiled in lawsuits over the health effects of its asbestos product lines. The colour given its pink fibreglass insulation not only distinguished it from competitors, but also from its own more hazardous asbestos products.
While the company declared bankruptcy in 2000 due to asbestos-related lawsuits, the company has since reorganized and is now the world’s top seller of insulation.
