About Half of Americans Identify White or Blue as Top Choice for Restroom Fixture Color

The style and appearance of a restroom says a lot about a business. For the roughly half of Americans who gravitate to white or blue restroom fixtures, it may also indicate a deeper psychological connection to cleanliness, trust or dependability. A recent online poll conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS), a leading provider of facility solutions, identifies Americans’ top color preferences for public restroom fixtures. Fifty-three percent of U.S. adults selected white as the number one color, with blue (45 percent) and beige (31 percent) ranking second and third, respectively.

“Updating restrooms with a splash of color in an unexpected place not only makes a big brand impact, it can also enhance the users’ perception of a business,” said David Collette, Director of Foodservice, Cintas. “This research demonstrates that consumers have a wide interest in restroom fixture color, so organizations should consider adding color to their restrooms to improve the customer experience.”

The poll, conducted online by Harris Interactive July 23-25, 2013 among 2,029 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, identified generational differences between color preferences. Younger adults ages 18-34 are more likely to prefer colorful restroom fixtures (blue, green, yellow, red and orange) compared to older adults ages 45 and up.

In addition to generational differences, gender and geographical location also dictate color preferences. For example, women are more likely than men to like black and/or yellow fixtures. Adults residing in the South prefer blue restroom dispensing systems.

Additional color preferences, along with commonly associated meanings with each color, include:

“Our previous research shows that nearly three in 10 U.S. adults would consider a restroom to be dirty if it had old or outdated dispensing equipment,” Collette added. “By selecting a new and colorful dispensing system, businesses can convey the desired image for their brand and make a trip to the restroom a positive and memorable experience.”

To help restaurants establish a cohesive brand image throughout their facility, Cintas recently launched the Signature Series collection of customizable, designer restroom dispensers and products. The Signature Series line includes soap dispensers, air fresheners, toilet paper dispensers, trash receptacles and toilet seat cleaner systems available in nine different colors.

For more information about Cintas’ solutions for restaurants, go to www.cintas.com/foodservice. For more information on Cintas’ innovative restroom solutions, go to www.cintas.com/facilityservices.

About the Survey

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Cintas from July 23-25, 2013 among 2,029 adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Matt Serra at (904) 355-8680 or by e-mail at mserra@mulberrymc.com.

About Cintas Corporation:

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Cintas Corporation provides highly specialized services to businesses of all types primarily throughout North America. Cintas designs, manufactures and implements corporate identity uniform programs, and provides entrance mats, restroom cleaning and supplies, tile and carpet cleaning, promotional products, first aid, safety, fire protection products and services and document management services for more than 1 million businesses. Cintas is a publicly held company traded over the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol CTAS and is a component of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.

¹http://personal.stevens.edu/~rchen/creativity/color%20in%20marketing.pdf