We are committed to delivering the most comfortable single-use absorbent hygiene products in terms of softness, skin health, and auditory discretion. Outercover materials play an important role in product performance by serving as a fluid barrier that helps prevent leakage and visible staining. At the same time, they influence key user-experience attributes, including leakage protection, softness, drapability, breathability, thermal comfort, skin health, and noise generation. 

One pathway to improving comfort and auditory discretion is to eliminate the film layer commonly used in current outercover laminates. However, doing so while maintaining barrier performance and preventing stain visibility remains technically challenging. Prior efforts to create filmless outercovers have required changes to the fabric structure to meet barrier properties that introduced unacceptable stiffness, rigidity, and loss of comfort in use. 

Recent advances in nonwoven material design, fiber and web architecture, and chemical treatments, including surface modification and bonding technologies, create new opportunities to achieve functional requirements for film-free outercovers. Advancing these materials to achieve performance comparable to film-containing laminates would enable diapers and other hygiene absorbent products that are comfortable, durable, discrete, and supportive of improved skin health.