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Henkel Adhesive Technologies

Henkel Adhesive Technologies

Sustainable hygiene production process

Optimising sustainability in processes includes lower energy, less waste, less material leading to reduced transport, and resource efficiency.
5 min.
Prairie

The fact that sustainability is also playing an increasingly important role in the personal hygiene sector is well known by now, as is the fact that there are several ways to make hygiene products more sustainable. After diving deeper into the topics of sustainable design of hygiene products and the use of natural materials in the production of sustainable hygiene products, we now focus on sustainable production processes. The manufacturing process plays an important role in achieving sustainability goals.

We all benefit from a more sustainable production process: our customers, consumers and the environment alike. And there are several areas in which the production processes offer potential for improvement:

  • Carbon footprint: Optimisation and reduction of both energy usage and CO2 emissions are crucial to move towards more sustainable operations
  • Resource efficiency: "More with less" and a conscious use of the world's limited resources are key aspects
  • Waste reduction: The first target is to reduce waste in production processes. Thereafter, a second life for the waste generated should be a clear mission.

No matter whether it's the production of baby nappies, femcare or adult incontinence products: The choice of the right adhesives can have a significant positive impact on processes and production conditions!

Adhesive as enabler for sustainable hygiene products: Life Cycle Analysis quantifies the impact in a standardised way

To evaluate the positive impact of the right adhesives on the eco-balance of sustainable hygiene products, Henkel conducts standardised Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) that cover all environmental impacts during production, use phase and disposal, as well as the associated upstream and downstream processes (e.g. production of raw materials).

Impacts include all environmentally relevant withdrawals from the environment (e.g. bio-mass, crude oil) and emissions into the environment (e.g. waste, carbon dioxide emissions).

illustration of a nappy's lifecycle

Overview of improvement opportunities for the production process for sustainable hygiene products

As explained earlier, carbon footprint reduction, better resource efficiency and waste reduction are three main drivers for more sustainable production processes. Concretely, Henkel adhesives bring a positive impact in following six optimisation opportunities:

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Resource efficiency by stronger bonding with fewer adhesives

Adhesives that ensure improved mileage contribute to more efficient operations

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Less material, less transportation

Less material means less weight during transport and thus fewer CO2 emissions

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Energy reduction with Easyflow® melt-on-demand adhesive

Auto-feeding and melting on demand mean less energy consumption in the melting process

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Energy reduction with low-temperature adhesives

Lower processing temperatures save energy and reduce the ecological footprint

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Waste reduction with optimised adhesives packaging

Reusable containers or big bags save packaging waste and offer additional benefits

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Process optimisation with TCS support

Our TCS teams optimise process and production lines, which leads to a positive impact on several aspects of sustainability

Hot melt adhesives selection: Key to producing sustainable hygiene products

The right hot melt adhesive cannot only fulfil the most demanding bonding tasks when it comes to a product design with natural materials, it can have an impact on the sustainable footprint of a production process as well.