Line of Credit Facility, Term Extension

No definition available.

Name:	cl_LineofCreditFacilityTermExtension
Namespace Prefix:	cl_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Period of time between issuance and maturity of debt instrument, in PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentTerm
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Maximum borrowing capacity under the credit facility without consideration of any current restrictions on the amount that could be borrowed or the amounts currently outstanding under the facility.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.19(b),22(b))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityMaximumBorrowingCapacity
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of borrowing capacity currently available under the credit facility (current borrowing capacity less the amount of borrowings outstanding).

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LineOfCreditFacilityRemainingBorrowingCapacity
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_CreditFacilityAxis=cl_AmendedDomesticRevolvingCreditFacility2650MillionCapacityMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_CreditFacilityAxis=cl_AmendedDomesticRevolvingCreditFacility1500MillionCapacityMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Long-Term Debt and Credit Facilities - Summary of Credit Facilities (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	1 Months Ended
	Aug. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2019	Nov. 30, 2018
Line of credit facility [Line Items]
Unused borrowing capacity		$ 4,594
Debt instrument term	364 days
Amended Domestic Revolving Credit Facility 2650 Million Capacity
Line of credit facility [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity			$ 2,650
Term extension	1 year
Amended Foreign Revolving Credit Facility 1500 Million Capacity
Line of credit facility [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity	$ 1,500