From Diapers to Underwear

Jorg Harren, R and D Director, Evonik Industries (Germany) quoted John Starr 2010 data to show that 65% of the available diaper market is now in the developing world.

• 47bn diapers/yr are used in Western Europe, North America and Japan, this representing 94% penetration.
• 51bn d/yr in the Middle East, South/Central America and other Asia/Pacific represents 41% penetration.
• 38bn d/yr in Central and Eastern Europe, Africa, China, India and Rest of Asia, represents only 9% penetration.

Global diaper market growth averaged 4.4% but MENA (where most countries birth-rate is above the global average of 2.5) averaged 6.4%. Growth in Developed markets was just 0.8%/year compared with 4.7% in developing markets and 8.1% in underdeveloped markets. 

The evolution towards ultrathin, underwear-style diapers which had been occurring since the 1980’s was possible because superabsorbents had been developed to do more than just absorb.  Removal of fluff pulp needed permeable SAPs but these allowed improvements in the sustainability of the diaper.  Diapers weighed 40gms at 35/65 SAP/Fluff and this came down to 31gms at 70/30 SAP/Fluff.  The 31gm diaper cost 75% of the older 40gm diaper based on the SAP/Fluff exchange alone.  Potential changes in other raw materials (ADL, core wrap etc) were not included.  Additional savings would accrue from less hammer-mill energy, less packaging and lower transport/storage costs. 

Evonik will be starting up an 80000t/y SAP plant in Al Jubail in Q4 2013.

Asked about the importance of ADL and topsheet in the performance of ultrathin diapers, Mr Harren said innovation would be needed in these areas as the move to fluffless diapers progressed.


(From EDANA Middle East Symposium  - Dubai - 14th and 15th Feb 2012)

Hygiene Products for MENA

Mohammed Minawi, General Manager - Research for IPSOS (Jordan) presented data from a consumer survey commissioned by EDANA specifically for this conference.  1500 females in the 18-45 age group from the top 2 or 3 cities in each of 5 MENA countries (Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Morocco)  were subjects for “Qualitative Consumer Immersions” in 3 sectors - Diapers, Fem-Care and Wipes.)

“Consumer and Industry Alignment” was gauged from answers to the questions:

“Do I care about the brand names in this sector”

Brand names proved very important for Diapers and Femcare, less so for Wipes, but even wipes ranked well above facial and toilet tissues. Diaper brands were most important in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, followed by Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Lebanon in that order.  However even Lebanon’s average score was above the average for all brands.

Fem-Care brands were most important in Egypt, followed by KSA, Jordan, Morocco and Lebanon.  Here Lebanon was below the average for all brands. Wet-wipe brands were most important in KSA, followed by Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Lebanon.  Here Jordan and Lebanon were below the all-brands average.

“Do I actively seek information about these products”

Diaper engagement was best in Egypt, Femcare engagement was best in KSA, and Wipes engagement was best in KSA followed by Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco. Overall, consumers were judged insufficiently engaged to seek information, but Femcare scored highest followed by diapers and wipes.

Brand selection is mainly based on Quality across all sectors.  For diapers, 45.6% of the consumers had never tried more than one brand and the brand was the main factor in choosing.  For Fem-Care, 47.6% had never tried more than one brand.  Product length, thickness and absorption came ahead of the brand name.

For Wipes, 50.6% of users had never tried more than one brand. The fragrance was a key factor in selection...

EDANA Middle East Symposium - Dubai - 14th and 15th Feb 2012

Introduction

40 companies displayed their products in the Exhibition and over 275 delegates from 151 countries attended this, the third EDANA Middle East Conference and the second to be held in the Jumeirah Beach resort in a hot and sunny Dubai February.  While only about half the delegates appeared to be in the conference at any one time, it was the exhibition rather than the baking beach that appeared to be the main alternative attraction.

EU and MENA Nonwovens

Pierre Wiertz, General Manager EDANA (Belgium) presented Jaques Prigneaux’s paper on trends in the nonwovens market based on detailed replies from 82 members:

In 2010, EU27 tonnage recovered to 1.785 million. Area produced, which did not decline in 2009, moved on to 54.2bn sq metres and if 2010 is compared with 2008, total tonnage was up by about 3.5%.  Notably, wet-laid and dry-lay spunlace did not regain the losses of 2008-9.  Apparel and Home nonwovens failed to recover to 2008 levels, and Hygiene only just made it into positive territory.  Medical showed the strongest recovery.

162,000 tonnes of staple-fibre nonwovens and 136,000 tonnes of spunmelt nonwovens were produced in MENA in 2010, this being expected to rise...

Snapshots from Chicago - WoW 2012

Rory Homes, President INDA, opens WOW 2012 and provides the latest statistics on the Industrial Wipes Market

Jessica Franken, Director of Government Affairs INDA reviews 27 years of lobbying to get the EPA to level the playing field between disposable wipes and laundered shop towels.  The end is in sight.

Ian Bell, Head of Tissue, Hygiene and Home Care Research, Euromonitor International describes the EU Wipe market trends and predicts how these might trigger further growth in the US Wipes market

A full report on these and all the other speeches at WOW will appear here and in Nonwovens Report International Magazine in due course.

INDA Conference WOWed the Wipes Industry

Annual World of Wipes (WOW)® Conference in Chicago focused on global wipes issues and opportunities, along with the presentation of World of Wipes Innovation Award™

CARY, N.C. — June 12, 2012 — Executives from all links in the wipes supply chain gathered earlier this month in Chicago, Illinois for the 2012 World of Wipes (WOW) International Conference, organized by INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry.

In addition to three full days of education seminars and networking at the Hotel InterContinental from June 5-7, WOW 2012 featured the presentation of the prestigious World of Wipes Innovation Award, which is given annually to encourage innovative processes and products anywhere along the wipes’ value chain. The 2012 World of Wipes Innovation Award was awarded to Sani Professional® for its Table Turners® No-Rinse Sanitizing Wipes.

Among the other highlights of the 2012 WOW Conference:

INDA's World of Wipes Innovation Award 2012 goes to...

Sani Professional Brand Table Turners

Table Turners No-Rinse Sanitizing Wipes were developed in tandem with a unique carrying and dispensing system, the Triple Take™Dispenser, that holds the wipes, provides portability of use and hands-free disposal of used wipes.

More information can be found at http://www.pdipdi.com/assets/tech_data/B_73363_TableTurnersTDBcdlr-634691368704930872.pdf and a full report of this meeting in Chicago last week will appear here and in Nonwovens Report International in due course.

Ingeo™ Biopolymer Becomes Cradle to Cradle CertifiedCM

  Safety to human and environmental health, design for future use cycles, and sustainable manufacturing processes among certification criteria

            MINNETONKA, Minn., May 24, 2012 — NatureWorks’ Ingeo^™ biopolymer, made from plants, not oil, is the first product of its kind to become Cradle to Cradle Certified^CM Silver by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.

            Cradle to Cradle Certified^CM is a multi-attribute program that assesses products for safety to human and environmental health, design for future use cycles, and sustainable manufacturing processes. The program provides guidelines to help businesses implement the Cradle to Cradle^® framework, which focuses on using safe materials that can be disassembled and reused as technical nutrients or composted as biological nutrients.

INDA's Fifth World of Wipes gets underway

Four finalists have been selected to compete for the World of Wipes Innovation Award competition being held as part of the annual World of Wipes (WOW) Conference, set for June 5-7 at the Hotel InterContinental in Chicago, Illinois.

The annual WOW Conference, organized by INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, is devoted solely to wipes, with a concentration on substrates, active ingredients, packaging, market metrics, industry challenges and market opportunities, particularly in Asia and Europe. The World of Wipes Innovation Award recognizes and rewards the industry members who bring new and value-added processes and products to the wipes market.

The four finalists, chosen from products nominated by the industry, are:

Paper of the Year Award 2011

Our Paper of the Year Award goes to:

Michael Harder of the Office of Interdisciplinary Sciences (Germany) who argued the case for using the developing science of complex systems to help understand the interactions now occurring in the financial system.  In a most thought-provoking presentation he showed how the new science can explain the inter-connectedness of the current crises of debt, inflation, population movements, and poverty and suggested the need for massive changes in the way we work, our currencies, production methods and Eurozone politics.  Along the way, the following points were notable:

·         Modern physics suggests the world comprises logical “islands” in an ocean of chaos and probability.  We prefer the logical and believe in causality, which leads to specialization. 

·         Specialists don’t recognize the wider reality.  They feel their island is the only correct one,  whereas many correct islands must be connected to perceive reality. This requires more complex thinking than we’re used to.

·         Order and Chaos are the key “attractors” with entropy leading to chaos and action leading to order. 

·         Ordered systems tend to deteriorate into chaotic systems and the chaotic tends to order.  The result is a natural balance best described by Darwinism.

·         “Darwinism is essential for any company management.”

However, reward of the fittest eventually leads to a growing population hitting system boundaries where the favoured species runs into the limits of its environment and risks crashing if it fails to correct its growth and adapt. (“Don’t try to work against nature”)

The global economy hit its system boundary about 25 years ago when we started consuming more resources than the planet could sustainably provide. 

EDANA Middle East Symposium 2012

Edited highlights of our report on the EDANA Middle East Symposium (14th -15th Feb 2012) are now available in Nonwovens Report International magazine - Issue 2 2012.  The full report will be posted here in due course, but in the meantime here are some photos from the occasion. 

While the conference hotel was at the Jumeirah Beach Resort, it was not in that resort's costly Burj al Arab hotel illustrated in the NRI article, but in the more popular and reasonable Jumeirah Beach Hotel illustrated below: