Gillette’s founder had a theory about disposability before he had a product.
King Camp Gillette, a bottle-cap salesman, was urged by his boss, William Painter, to invent something people use once and toss. In 1895 he dreamed up the throwaway razor blade. The “cheap handle, costly refills” model now tied to his name actually came later — mostly from rivals. In 2005, P&G bought the company for $57 billion.
Gillette on Brandseum