The proliferation of new brands and product formats within disposable categories have led to some interesting new developments on the raw material front. Not only are brands using alternative fiber formats to provide improved absorbency and comfort to their products, they are touting the use of these materials to showcase their sustainability focused efforts.
A number of factors are contributing to this change in the product landscape. Consumers are becoming more aware of ingredients and their impact both on their overall health; consumer products companies and major retailers are demanding more sustainable product formats and government regulation is demanding less plastic-focused waste.
This summer the U.K. is poised to become the first country to ban wet wipes containing plastic, citing research that showing that plastic wipes break down into microplastics over time, which can be harmful to human health and can disrupt ecosystems. Legislators feel that banning plastic-containing wipes will reduce plastic and microplastic pollution and reduce the volume of microplastics entering wastewater treatment sites when wrongly flushed—meaning beaches and waterways will benefit from the ban.
In launching its new feminine pad product, Carefree highlighted the use of viscoe in the product.
Responses to the public consultation showed overwhelming support for the proposed ban – which will be introduced via secondary legislation under the country’s Environmental Protection Act 1990 – with 95% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing with the proposals. Within the nonwovens industry, support is also favorable.
EDANA, the leadering global trade association for the nonwovens industry and a representative of many major wet wipes manufacturers in the U.K., supports the legislation.
“Reducing plastic in the environment is an extremely important goal and this needs to be done whilst also ensuring that parents, carers, businesses, and the NHS can continue to make use of the valuable functions that wet wipes provide regarding hygiene, anti-viral qualities post-COVID-19, helping with care, parenting, and industrial processes,” the association said in a prepared statement. “Reducing plastic also needs to be done in a way that achieves its environmental objective while avoiding unnecessary U.K. manufacturing job losses in communities across the UK, which in turn could lead to loss of investment, competitiveness, and innovation.”
Beyond the U.K., the European Union’s Single Use Plastics (SUP) directive and similar efforts in some U.S. states and Canada are also having some influence on nonwoven product designs.
“These types of regulations have opened opportunities for all the natural fibers. Cotton specifically has been around for a long time as the natural fiber of choice,” says Lewis Barnhardt, president cotton manufacturer Barnhart Manufacturing. “There are brands committed to natural fibers and the sustainability messaging. There is much more interest and development work occurring with cotton and other natural fibers,” says Lewis Barnhardt, president of cotton manufacturer Barnhardt Manufacturing.
Even before the passage of the new legislation, over half of consumer wet wipes on the market in the U.K. today are already plastic-free as major retailers like Boots and Aldi have already banned thei sale of plastic-containing wipes in their stores. At Aldi alone, the ban has removed an estimated 7000 tons of unnecessary plastic from the system, according to the retailer.
Major wipes makers are also focused on limiting the use of plastics in their products. Last year, Johnson & Johnson’s Neutrogena brand partnered with Lenzing’s Veocel fiber brand to transition its makeup removal wipes to 100% plant-based fibers. The wipes now use Veocel branded fibers made with renewable wood from sustainably managed and certified forests. and can be composted at home in 35 days, eliminating waste which ends up in a landfill.
The use of hemp is becoming more widespread in personal care applications. Earlier this year, Hempress Hygienics launched its full in in the fem care category.
“Our co-branding partnership with Neutrogena showed how we are committed to expanding the visibility of Veocel in the marketplace and providing consumers with simple, environmentally-friendly solutions,” says Anna Lasinger-Guserl, director of product management, Branding and Sustainability, Lenzing.
In the nonwovens industry, the Veocel certification criteria, introduced in July 2019, enables consumers to easily identify personal care products that are made from 100% cellulosic and biodegradable2 fiber materials by simply referring to the Veocel brand logo on the packaging. This certification is also applicable to our co-branding beauty, home and personal care products.
“Over recent years, there has been a noticeable trend of consumers becoming more aware of their environmental impact, which is influencing their purchasing decisions, particularly with single-use items like many nonwoven products,” Lasinger adds. “As a result, the industry is increasingly incorporating plastic-free alternatives to fossil-based fibers in their offerings. In addition to this, regulations like the EU directive to reduce single-use plastics is also accelerating the switch to products, materials and processes that have less of an impact on the environment.”
Partnerships in Play
According to India cellulose fiber manufacturer Birla, designing a sustainable and plastic-free alternative product requires careful consideration of performance, cost and scalability. It involves addressing various aspects, including: comparing the essential performance criteria of the alternative product with the one currently used by consumers, ensuring that claims, such as being plastic-free, can be verified and substantiated and choosing materials that are cost-effective and readily available in large quantities to replace the majority of plastic-based products.
“The crucial factor in this transition is the selection of appropriate raw materials or fibers,” says Rahul Bansal, head global business development & AVP Sales—Nonwovens. “Over the past five years, our R&D and application development teams have been dedicated to creating new functional fiber solutions tailored to specific applications. Our development objective has been crystal clear: the new fibers must be sustainable, with minimal or no additional cost, and must deliver the desired performance in end products.”
Birla has successfully integrated functional sustainable fibers into various applications, including flushable wipes, absorbent hygiene products top sheets and secondary top sheets, liquid filtration, battery separators, and flame retardant mattresses. Additionally, the company has collaborated with companies like Indian fem care start up Sparkle on the development of a plastic-free sanitary pad as well as Ginni Filaments, a nonwovens producer, and Dima Products, a hygiene manufacturer, which have allowed the company to efficiently convert its new fibers into end products.
While the use of natural fibers continue to increase their role in absorbent products, significant growth opportunities continue to exist. The overall global fiber market is still vastly dominated by synthetic fibers. More than 100 million metric tons of fiber are produced every year. More than 60% of it are synthetic fibers, 24% of it is cotton and about 6% manmade cellulosic like viscose and lyocell. As of today, about 1% of the market share is based on other natural fibers such as hemp, kapok, wool… A vast majority of cotton is used in textile apparel, home textiles.
“In nonwovens there is definitively a large market penetration opportunity for cotton, particularly with a truly authentic natural fiber like cotton,” says Jeff DeGrutolla, vice president sales and business development, TruCotton.
Earlier this year, Intco Brand Tampons introduced a new tampon made using 100% organic cotton, which is sourced responsibly to ensure both well-being and environmental sustainability According to the company, the tampon that not only meets but exceeds the expectations of modern women and is crafted with the highest quality materials, ensuring a soft, breathable, and irritation-free experience. The use of hypoallergenic cotton ensures a gentle and soothing experience, promoting overall vaginal health. Other brands like Corman, Kudos and Unicharm have also incorporated cotton fibers within their disposable products, citing the fibers’ absorbency and softness benefits as key consumer benefits.
“I cannot think of a nonwoven partner not acting upon the need to green up the nonwoven value chain,” says DeGrutolla. “Some are just contemplating/testing possibilities to incorporate greener options, some are just adding a small greener SKUs to their product portfolio and others are taking actual bold actions by taking the lead and transitioning most of their portfolio to more sustainable options. Product differentiation is key to brand managers. In the wipe and hygiene segment we are seeing mainly plant based and plastic free claims.”
TruCotton has focused on innovation and value creation for its customers in nonwovens, wipes and hygiene applications. Amongst its core technologies is a unique proprietary cleaning process technique to enhance the performance and characteristics of cotton fibers for nonwovens applications (unmatched in terms of VFM Visible Foreign Matters).
“We are not aware of any other cotton type reaching such a cleanliness level,” DeGrutolla says. “Trucotton is working on many nonwoven technologies such as spunlace, needlepunch and hybrid nonwoven like CPC CAC. We are also evaluating the possibility to use Trucotton in short cut hydrophilic version for wetlaid nonwovens as well as proprietary methods for blending cotton with other fibers like hemp, kapok, viscose and Lyocell to create materials that offer enhanced performance and versatility. This allows customers to tailor the properties of the final product to meet specific application requirements.
Consumer Focus
Studies have shown that Gen Z consumers hold brands to higher sustainability standards and actively choose products and brands that make more environmentally conscious products. I believe this generation can see the climate risks ahead more clearly and hence want to take action accordingly.
Producers of fibers like cotton, viscose and hemp continue to play an important role in inspiring a shift in consumer behavior by educating consumers on alternatives to synthetic solutions and highlighting the versatility these fibers in various applications.
“The growth of natural & biobased fibres in nonwovens is driven by converging factors: Growing awareness of the environmental impact of synthetic fibres, particularly microplastic pollution, drives a shift towards sustainable alternatives,” says Marina Crnoja-Cosic, director of new business development, Kelheim. “This applies both in terms of raw material sourcing, environmentally friendly production, and biodegradability. Consumers actively seek products made with sustainable materials, creating a strong market pull for biobased fibre-based nonwovens. At the same time, governments worldwide implement stricter regulations on single-use plastics and promote eco-friendly alternatives, accelerating the demand for biobased fibres.”
Of course, transitioning to more natural fibers has not been without challenges. Natural fibers like cotton or hemp exhibit inherent variability in their properties due to factors like weather, soil conditions and plant genetics. This variability can impact fiber length, strength, and processing behavior, making it challenging to achieve consistent product quality in nonwovens. In contrast, synthetic fibers like polyester and polypropylene are produced through controlled polymerization processes, resulting in fibers with uniform properties. This consistency simplifies processing and ensures predictable performance in nonwoven applications.
Recent projects from Kelheim include a collaboration with Pelz Group and Sandler Group on a plant-based panty liner, which meets the requirements of the SUP directive wile matching the performance of conventional synthetic products. Kelheim’s viscose speciality fibres provided the project with an environmentally friendly and high-performance alternative to synthetic materials. The incorporation of plant-based fibers was an important part of Pelz’s marketing message surrounding the pantyliner.
“We are seeing a rise in end-product manufacturers highlighting the use of specific raw materials like viscose, hemp, cotton, and linen in their marketing messages,” Crnoja-Cosic says. “This trend reflects the growing consumer demand for eco-conscious products. While consumers might not fully understand the technical details of each fibre’s role, the transparency itself fosters trust and aligns with the general shift towards conscious consumption.”
Hemp Has Its Day
Hemp continues to grow its role sustainable hygiene market. In recent months, the market has seen the introduction of hemp-based products from fem care companies including Mewali, Hempress Hygienics and Rif and wipes manufacturer Harper Hygienics. These companies are choosing Hemp for its sustainability profile. Not only is hemp sustainable and renewable, it can also be grown with minimal impact with about a quarter of the carbon footprint of cotton.
From a performance standpoint, the benefits of hemp include breathable comfort and antibacterial power in products. For the environment, the use of hemp offers soil enrichement, versatile growth, pest repellant and lower water use.
Bast Fibre Technologies Inc. (BFT), currently supplies hemp fibers for nonwoven-based products from facilities in the U.S. and Germany. The U.S. site, located in Lumberton, NC, was acquired from Georgia-Pacific Cellulose in 2022, to allow it to meet rapidly growing demand for the company’s sustainable fibers while its European site, in Tönisvorst, Germany, was acquired from Faser Veredlung in 2022. The acquisitions enable BFT to meet growing consumer demand for its sustainable fibers, which are sold under the sero brand name, in hygiene and other applications.
According to Jason Finnis, executive vice president, demand continues to grow for BFT fibers driven not only by consumer demand but also by technology developments that have allowed nonwoven producers to process the fibers at higher and higher percentages. The two sites are important steps in the company’s long-term strategy of building significant high quality manufacturing capacity for its global customers supporting its core mission of ‘grow local, process local, sell local.’
Earlier this year Hempress Hygienics, a next-generation period and personal care brand is committed to harnessing the power of hemp to make sustainable and intentional hemp-based personal care products mainstream, has launched its initial product line, which includes the market’s first 100% organic hemp and cotton-based day pads, night pads, liners, swabs, cosmetic pads and silicone menstrual cups.
“We’re so excited to introduce consumers and retailers to the power of hemp via our intentional and sustainable product line,” says Hempress cofounder and CEO Marilyn Austin. “Our goal is to create a positive impact with products that will transform, but not disrupt people’s preferences and routines. We recognize that consumers prefer disposable personal care products and are proud to have created sustainable, disposable alternatives that prioritize both user health and that of the environment. By utilizing hemp, we have tapped into a remarkable natural resource that aligns with our commitment to fostering healthier and more conscious lifestyles—leveraging the ancient wisdom of hemp to solve modern day problems.”
The launch ushers in a new era of sustainable and intentional products that prioritize both personal well-being and environmental conservation. Hempress intentionally reimagines the personal care items we use every day to be 100% organic, biodegradable and regenerative—reinforcing the connection between humans and the greater ecosystem. The brand is passionate about inspiring a wider industry shift towards hemp-based products free from synthetic fibers and plastics, as hemp is water efficient, anti-microbial, carbon negative, non-toxic, replenishes soil with key nutrients and offers the benefit of breathability for the user.
New research from North Carolina State University and Cotton Incorporated explores the biodegradability of cellulosic microfibers—demonstrating laundered cotton microfibers break down faster than cellulosic microfibers from toilet tissue in wastewater treatment, fresh water, and saltwater environments. Further, microfibers from synthetic materials did not readily biodegrade and were persistent after the testing periods in all environments tested. The researchers showed that cellulosic microfibers from flushable wipes, tissue paper, and cotton fibers generated from bleached cotton jersey knit fabric biodegraded extensively across all tested conditions.
“Since toilet tissue microfibers enter the wastewater treatment system at a rate of 45 pounds per year per person in the United States, they are one of the most significant contributors to cellulosic microfibers. The annual microfiber emissions from toilet paper use in the United States equals the microfiber shedding from washing 1.4 million T-shirts,” says Jesse Daystar, Ph.D., vice president and chief sustainability officer at Cotton Incorporated. “Our research confirms cotton microfibers biodegrade equal to or faster than toilet tissue microfibers in wastewater treatment, fresh water and saltwater environments, demonstrating society’s and nature’s ability to manage them.”
The study also found that the presence of polypropylene in blended nonwoven wipes did not hinder the biodegradation of the cellulose component. This suggests that even when combined in a single product, the cellulosic component can still degrade independently, while the polypropylene remains undegraded.
“These results reaffirm that fibers found in these cellulosic and cotton-based products can biodegrade easily in various environments,” adds Mary Ankeny, vice president of product development and implementation operations at Cotton Incorporated. “Our research highlights the importance of choosing natural fibers over synthetic alternatives to reduce the accumulation of non-biodegradable waste in our environment in order to promote a more sustainable future.”
This research studied the biodegradation of cotton microfibers, commercially available flushable wipes, polypropylene-based nonwoven wipes with a cellulose component, and toilet tissue. The biodegradation was tested in wastewater treatment plant solids, seawater, and lake water using standard methods in an ECHO respirometer. The experiments continued until carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions plateaued, and the final extent of biodegradation was calculated based on the theoretical CO2 production derived from elemental analysis.
