We are committed to delivering the most comfortable single-use absorbent hygiene products in terms of softness, skin health, and auditory discretion (low noise generation). One primary way this could be achieved is if the film layer could be eliminated from the outercover of the product. Today the film laminate provides key benefits by serving as a fluid barrier as well as imparting resistance to staining. For filmless solution, we need to be able to continue to achieve comparable performance on these key attributes (barrier and staining) as well as ensuring that the handfeel/drape and breathability is not negatively impacted. Elimination of film should also positively impact cost structure vs baseline product, so solutions which lead to a cost increase will not be considered.

Past attempts to deliver this (filmless outercover) have required fabric changes in order to meet barrier properties that were so significant that the product stiffness/rigidity was unacceptable in use.

Advancing these materials to achieve performance comparable to that of a film-containing laminate would enable the creation of diapers or other hygiene products that are comfortable, durable, and discrete (in terms of being “whisper quiet) while enabling a shift toward improved skin health.

To achieve our goals, we need to deliver a nonwoven that can be used to replace the current Spunbond-Film outercover.