A whole lot of bees/others have been busting their butts trying to work out a route to hydroquinone/benzoquinone from seriously OTC products, potentially as a decent source of the same for synthesis in the 2,5-series. I was slightly surprised, given the amount of work that has been done (and the research done by many including myself) to find this - p-Hydroxybenzoic Acid made by heating the dried potassium salicylate with potassium carbonate under CO2 (ie. the dipotassium salt - yield is supposedly near theoretical).

Form the methyl p-methoxybenzoate using pretty much any methylating agent, then work out a route to getting rid of that ester to give p-methoxyphenol as required by so many syntheses