Adhesives are crucial to the construction and design of personal hygiene products. Adhesives must work across diverse substrates to ensure security, softness, absorption and comfort.
Sustainability has had a greater focus over the past few years. Whether in politics, lifestyle or purchasing decisions sustainability is playing an increasing role for consumers:
- 89% of consumers care personally about protecting the planet*
- 64% of consumers feel they can make a difference in the world with their choices*
- 83% of consumers would always pick the brand with a better record on sustainability*
Consumers wish to actively contribute to a more sustainable future through their actions, which is why they are increasingly interested in the origin of products, the production process and the materials used to make the products they use on a daily basis. This trend is also often reflected in the purchase decisions for baby nappies, femcare or incontinence products. What does this mean for manufacturers of personal hygiene products?
By improving the product design and selecting sustainable materials, manufacturers can make a difference — for the environment and for their customers.
*Source: J. Walter Thompson Intelligence: The New Sustainability: Regeneration 2018
Theoretically there are endless possibilities for the use of sustainable materials. The most important materials in this context are bio-based materials, recycled materials and biodegradable materials.
Bio-based materials
Bio-based materials are all materials made from raw materials derived from biological or renewable resources, such as cotton, bamboo, cellulose, PLA, but also bio-PE and bio-PET.
Recycled materials
Recycled materials include all materials that are made from raw materials that have had at least one previous purpose, i.e. have already been recycled once. Recycling can be either mechanical or chemical. Chemical recycling, however, is preferred by the hygiene industry because of the high standards involved.
Biodegradable materials
Biodegradable materials and bio-based materials are not necessarily the same because not all bio-based materials are also biodegradable. All combinations of bio-based/fossil and biodegradable/non-biodegradable exist, which makes the possibilities and uses in the personal hygiene industry so diverse.
Personal hygiene products, like baby nappies, consist of a variety of different substrates and materials. Fluff, SAP and plastic make up a total of around 95%, adhesives only 5%.
Even though adhesives are just a minor part of a nappy or other hygiene product, they are crucial to the overall construction and design of a sustainable hygiene product. This is because adhesives make the properties of all other materials function together. The more diverse substrates are used, the more complex are the demands on the bonding mechanism to keep the different types of materials together. It is clear that sustainable substrates and materials must deliver on the primary tasks — ensuring security, softness, absorption and comfort. Adhesives are, in that respect, the hidden champions, making it all possible!
There are a variety of sustainable materials that can be used for a more sustainable hygiene product.
One big topic is to incorporate bio-based derived materials in the substrates for hygiene products:
- Cotton
- Viscose/Bamboo
- Tissue/Cellulose
Bio-based plastic also offers many benefits. In most cases, bio-based plastic has the same attributes as fossil-based plastic, but with a significantly better eco-balance.
Finally, bio-based adhesives are also an option to increase the use of sustainable materials in the end products. Natural raw materials such as rosin esters and terpenes have been around for a long time in hot melt adhesives, but with limitations in terms of odour and colour.
Now this field has been expanded with a newly developed range: TECHNOMELT DM ECO, bio-based adhesives with around 70% bio-based content. These adhesives combine bio-based content with maximum performance and clear improvement in purity — one step ahead for more sustainability.