- Background
- What we're looking for
- What we can offer you
- Who we are
- Q&A
Our team is committed to reducing fossil-fuel based plastics in single-use baby diapers by 50%. We are focused on delivering our North Star of a compostable diaper that unlocks a pathway to biological circularity and carbon neutrality.
In the past, bio-based and compostable materials have often fallen short of industry standards for softness and strength. Advancing these materials to achieve performance comparable to polyolefin-based nonwoven materials would enable the creation of diapers that are both comfortable and durable while supporting a shift toward circular and climate-friendly solutions.
To achieve our goals, we need compostable and bio-based alternatives that can be used to replace several existing baby diaper components; namely the body-side liner, the outercover, the fluid containment flaps, and the adhesives used to attach these layers to the diaper.
We are looking for compostable, bio-based materials and adhesives to replace key components of disposable baby diapers while maintaining softness, effective fluid flow control, and overall consumer appeal.We are particularly interested in nonwoven structures such as spunbond (bonded filaments), spunlace (hydroentangled fibers), tissue, bicomponent webs (BCW), or spunbond–meltblown–spunbond (SMS) composites, which may be suited to different diaper layers. Fluid barrier needs will vary by use case and will range from 20-25 mlb hydrohead for outer cover and containment flap applications, while inner liners must be hydrophilic to draw fluid inward. Fluid barrier properties can be influenced by both fiber structure and treatments. We have existing expertise in treatments that we can use to dial in the proper level of fluid handling.
- Outercover material, hydrophobic, 20-25gsm
- Containment flap material, hydrophobic, 15-20gsm
- Inner liner material, hydrophilic, 15-20gsm
- Bio-based hotmelt elastic adhesive
- Evidence or rationale supporting compostability (ASTM D6400 preferred)
- Relevant to disposable diaper design
- Potential to meet consumer expectations for softness and durability (applicable to solutions 1-3)
- Appropriate level of hydrohead achievable via structure or treatment (applicable to solutions 1-2)
- Ability to bond compostable diaper materials (e.g., elastic strands, stretchable materials) effectively while ensuring fit and leakage containment (applicable to solution 4)
- Bio-based composition
- Low carbon footprint
Our passion for creating essentials for a better life for people everywhere has driven us to invent five of our eight major consumer product categories: facial tissue, paper towels, toilet paper on a roll, feminine pads and disposable training pants.
At Kimberly-Clark, the insights gained from our customers, shoppers and users drive us to continuously explore new ways to create innovative product and design solutions across our brands and increase our speed to market with new-to-the-world essential solutions.
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