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Women who need to remove makeup after a busy day, want to clean their sticky hands after eating delicious food, babies who need to clean after changing diapers, shoppers who want to clean their hands quickly after walking out of the elevator ...... No matter what the scene, consumers can find suitable types of wet wipes, and these products are constantly improving with the development of the times every year.

"Convenience and ease of use continue to be a top concern for consumers," said Cesar Del Carpio, director of marketing and innovation at Radienz Living, a leading manufacturer of home and personal care products in North America. "Demand for convenience and ease of use, as well as environmental friendliness, has increased over the past two years, and we have seen more of these options on our shelves."

Strong growth in wipes

Michael Wettstein, vice president of sales at Kleen Test Products, a contract manufacturer of wipes, said rising consumer demand for personal care wipes has changed the category over the past few years. These changes have pushed the company to develop more sustainable products, improve production techniques, and put it under pressure from changes in its supply chain during the new crown epidemic.

Liying Qian, a senior analyst at Euromonitor International (Euromonitor International), the world's leading independent strategic market research institution, said that the overall growth of general personal care wipes was strong. "There has been a big increase in antibacterial wipes and baby wipes due to the new crown epidemic." Qian said, "Due to increased hygiene awareness during this period, the per capita use of wet wipes was higher than before the epidemic." She predicts that the growth of the cleansing wipes category will decline over the next five years, given new home work trends and women's reluctance to participate in nightlife due to breakthrough infections, among other factors.

Still, Wettstein says he's seeing growing demand for its micellar water cleanser. "We attribute this growth to the formulation advantages of cleansing, makeup removal and moisturizing, which meet the multiple needs of consumers."

By definition, these alcohol-free cleansing wipes are formulated using micelles, which are aggregates of surfactant phospholipid molecules that, when dispersed in a liquid, form a colloidal suspension that gently removes impurities such as makeup and dirt and grease from the skin.

Eliminate non-biodegradable

In addition to performing cleaning and disinfection functions, equally important to manufacturers are the materials and ingredients used to make sustainable products. These include personal care wipes made from 100 percent plant fibers and other environmentally friendly materials such as cotton, wood pulp, hemp and bast fibers. Bast fiber is a kind of cellulose fiber, hemp is a kind of bast fiber, growth is fast, is a kind of renewable resources, and the cost of planting and harvesting is lower.

Radienz Living provides its customers with private label solutions and contract manufacturing services, and is currently innovating with business partners using 100 percent biodegradable compostable materials, particularly Lyocell.

Similarly, Millie Moon, a maker of baby diapers and wipes, has created biodegradable pH-balanced products that contain skin-nourishing fruit extracts such as avocado and aloe vera leaf juice, according to Qian. Last spring, other niche brands such as Coterie jumped on the sustainability bandwagon with the introduction of compostable baby wipes. Made from Veocel lyocell fiber, 99% water and five cleaning ingredients, these wipes are thicker and faster to compost than most other wipes.

"Sustainability is a driving force for the personal care wipes industry," says Wettstein, "and the number of sustainable nonwovens and packaging options has increased significantly over the past five years. In addition to more sustainable options, nonwovens suppliers continue to improve the quality of their sustainable products. For example, the strength of nonwovens is constantly increasing to match the capacity of processing equipment. The future also needs to continue to focus on reducing the cost of these new sustainable materials."

Wettstein added that collaboration between external strategic technology partners, internal innovation and R & D teams, and its diversified manufacturing capabilities, including multiple pilot lines for testing and experimentation, help bring innovation to customers.

Personal care wipes seek to 'beat' toilet paper

Nice-Pak is a global leader in the manufacture and distribution of pre-wet wipes and the manufacturer of the first wet wipes, and it continues to improve its flushable wipe technology. As a fourth-generation family company, Nice-Pak mission is to help the world stay healthy and better, which is reflected in its responsibility to the environment. Its latest innovative product, Nice 'N CLEAN SecureFLUSH Technology flushable wipes, is what it calls a "breakthrough" product. It is durable and disperses five times faster than leading brands of two-layer toilet paper.

These wipes contain natural ingredients and are made from 100 per cent biodegradable plant fibers, which have been rigorously tested and developed over six years to ensure the wipes are properly fiber and formulated so that the product meets high performance standards. According to John Iarocci, Nice-Pak vice president and head of research and development, Nice-Pak developers met with sewage treatment facility personnel to learn as much as possible about how to make products that perform better than toilet paper. Before being put on the market, the wipes have been tested and meet all the requirements of international guidelines, including INDA, EDANA's GD4 test and the standards of the International Water Dispensable Group.

In addition, in response to growing demand for wipes, Nice-Pak announced a dual investment to expand processing capacity in North America. In Moursville, Indiana, the company is adding a new 1.2 million-square-foot facility with a $0.165 billion investment, five miles from Nice-Pak existing 147,000-square-foot facility.

"This new investment is an important milestone in our mission to help keep the world healthy," said Robert Julius, Chairman and CEO of Nice-Pak. "We continue to work to meet the growing demand for wipes, one of the essential products to help prevent new crowns."

Nice-Pak also invested in upgrading the plant in Jonesboro, Arkansas, doubling the production capacity of disinfectant wipes. This includes the expansion of an existing production line and the addition of a new production line. "Our products are essential for consumers to stay healthy during the new crown epidemic," Julius said, "and we 've been working non-stop to produce more wipes than ever before." While these investments are primarily focused on surface sanitizing wipes, they will free up existing capacity for personal care wipes.

For sewer safety purposes, the flushability of wipes is critical. Last April, Kimberly-Clark, the maker of Cottonelle wipes, was sued by the water management system in Charleston, S. C., for causing costly sewer blockages and stagnant water, or large accumulations of material that should have been discarded. The wipes maker and others, including Procter & Gamble, as well as retailers such as Costco Wholesale, CVS Health, Walgreens and Target, are accused of selling so-called "flushable" products that fail to break down like toilet paper. While not admitting any wrongdoing, Kimberly-Clark reached a proposed settlement with Charleston Water Management System, promising two years of testing, manufacturing improvements and better labeling. While the company said its Cottonelle wipes passed "widely accepted flushability specifications" and were pipe-tested, Nice-Pak SecureFLUSH wipes performed similarly.

"SecureFLUSH wipes are specifically designed to break down quickly after immersion in water," Iarocci said. "It's a unique balance-similar to a lock and key-that makes the non-woven fabric strong enough for use but at the same time safe for pipes."

Iarocci added that the company's goal was to "beat toilet paper". Interestingly, Qian says some consumers do not use the wipes for their intended use. Adults are using baby wipes instead of surface cleaning, even their own body cleaning, she said.

Another budding brand in the anti-toilet paper trend is the Dude Wipes brand of personal care wipes. They use plant ingredients, sea salt and aloe vera to produce fragrance-free flushable wipes for face and body. In 2020, the brand's total revenue climbed to $40 million, a significant increase from the $15.5 million reported in 2019.

Qian said that although consumers choose regular toilet paper because it is more affordable, flushable wipes, although more expensive, have proved to be a more effective alternative, allowing users to have a better cleaning experience and a fresh feeling.

Nice-Pak executives say the company's patented Nice 'N CLEAN SecureFLUSH technology demonstrates their commitment to sustainability and innovation. "After six years of rigorous testing and development, we are pleased to introduce a truly innovative product that consumers can rely on because it breaks down 5 times faster than toilet paper and can provide an amazing cleaning experience. It can also be washed away safely," said Michael Lyons, Nice-Pak's vice president of business development and brand general manager, we will continue to innovate in this category and exceed industry expectations."

Focus on natural

As the use of wipes continues to climb, the industry is facing the challenge of keeping its products green. This is driven not only by government regulations such as the European Single-Use Plastics Directive and similar measures being evaluated in several US states, but also by consumer preferences for more natural products.

Pricie Hanna, managing partner of Price Hanna Consultants, continues to see more brands competing for consumers who value the use of sustainable materials in disposable products. "Millennials and younger consumers are driving this trend, and the public is increasingly focused on sustainability," she explains. "In addition to direct-to-consumer brands, we are seeing major manufacturers and their brands follow this strategy in the baby and feminine care categories."

At the end of 2020, Kimberly-Clark launched the Huggies Pure Biodegradable wipes series in the UK, which can biodegrade after 15 days under simulated landfill conditions. This plastic-free wipes is made from 100 percent natural fibers. Independent tests have shown that Huggies Pure Biodegradable wipes will biodegrade in a landfill after 15 days, making them the brand's first biodegradable product. The brand promises to eliminate plastic from its range of baby wipes in the UK in five years or less.
In addition to launching its first biodegradable product, Huggies has made significant progress towards achieving other goals of its Minimum Footprint mission. Achievements to date include the removal of 359 tonnes of plastic (per year) from the baby wipes portfolio, the removal of 17 tonnes of plastic (per year) from the Huggies Extra Care portfolio and the removal of the inner plastic bag in the large box, saving 43 tonnes of plastic (per year).

Ori Ben Shai, vice president and managing director of Kimberly-Clark UK and Ireland, said: "We know this is great news for parents who rely on these wipes as a daily parenting necessity but are also struggling to reduce their impact on the planet. No parent should compromise between caring for their baby and protecting the environment, so we are proud to offer them an affordable and sustainable solution with baby skin care at its core."

"The launch of the first biodegradable product brings us closer to achieving the goals set out in our 'Minimum Footprint' mission. We know that there is still a long way to go to achieve this ambitious plan, but we are committed to developing the best products to meet the changing needs of consumers."

At the same time, at the end of 2021, Eunice (Unicharm) launched Mamy Poko Premium baby wipes in Taiwan Province of China. The new product uses an organic cotton composite sheet that has obtained the world's highest safety standard certification "Oeko-Tex" Standard100 certification, and has obtained "FSC certification", thus taking into account safety and the environment.

The Standard100 of "Oeko-Tex" is an international safety certification, which is only granted to textile products that meet strict standards after analysis and testing of more than 350 harmful chemical substances by Oeko-Tex's certification inspection units. To obtain this certification label, all materials and chemicals used in the product must meet their laboratory standards. In other words, products with this label are "proven" to have high safety standards. Eunice is committed to maintaining a better future for babies by providing safe and reliable products and working hard on ORGABITS projects. This is a sustainable activity that is friendly to the earth.

In the field of feminine hygiene, Lunette has launched a new intimate care product Lunette Intimate Wipes. As a 100% biodegradable/compostable wipes, this product is not only suitable for private areas, but also for the whole body. "Through our continued focus on quality, safety and sustainability, we have earned our position as the world's top feminine care brand, and the Lunette Intimate Wipes reflects this." Chief executive Kurjanen said.

This article is from Nonwovens Industry Journal
作者：Lianna Albrizio