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As in the larger textile industry, sustainability is at the forefront of efforts in the nonwoven wipes market. From the preservatives that keep the wipe from growing bacteria and the nonwoven substrates themselves to the product’s transportation and the establishment of recycling programs, companies are looking for ways to conserve resources and be better Earth stewards throughout their entire supply chain. Consumers and European regulations are driving factors, noted speakers at the World of Wipes conference in Minneapolis. Minn., in June, and businesses are looking to partner to tackle these big problems.
“We all know the problem,” said Ashish Gandhi, senior director of nonwoven technologies at Lenzing Fibers Inc., of Lenzing, Austria, during his presentation. “How can we get at it?” He said that collaborative innovation will speed up solutions and that Lenzing was looking for partners to license its 100% cellulose substrate technology.
In addition to business partnerships, Daniel Locke, senior research and development (R&D) manager of Kimberly-Clark, Dallas, Texas, listed opportunities to work together through organizations such as the Oceans Plastic Leadership Network (GPLN) and Global Plastics Treaty Dialogue.
In his presentation, he advised that packaging is a great way to start looking for solutions and gave the example that simply changing the way paper towels were compressed led to needing less packaging to ship the same number of towels and being able to get more per pallet and truck. This saved transportation costs (and CO2) per order without touching the product design. Big impacts can come from simple ideas, he said.
Locke said that sustainability begins with a product’s design. Gandhi advised that companies should consider whether their products are overdesigned, to work toward achieving cost parity over time for more sustainable offerings.
David Koehl, global marketing, home and personal care for Arxada, Florham Park, N.J., noted that natural preservative options are increasing, and costs are decreasing, with a big game-changer in the last few years being the evolving definition of being natural and sustainable. Now, sustainability can include making use of recycled materials and crop waste, such as corn cobs used to make antibacterial materials.
Alternatives to plastics in the industry was a major topic of discussion at the conference. Paul Latten, R&D director at Southeast Nonwovens in Clover, S.C., presented his findings on various natural fibers, including kapok, cotton, hemp, banana and pineapple fibers. “Biodegradable rPET is the key to the plastic problem,” he said.
Through his study of natural fibers, Latten found that genetics, harvest cycles and processing reduce the diameter of the fiber, and those with larger diameters, such as hemp, banana and pineapple fibers, can affect nonwoven structures. He advised against nonwovens made from 100% natural fiber such as 100% hemp and encouraged folks to experiment with different natural fiber types and blends to fit specific needs, such as engineering hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties. Overall, Latten found that all the natural fibers he studied can be useful when used in blends to make hydroentangled wipes.
Yash Jaipuria and Ayan Chakraborty at Ginni Filaments Ltd. in Noida, India, also discussed the advantageous properties of rPET wipes compared to traditional wipes. They found that rPET wipes are 50% stronger and 10% thicker than traditional wipes, and while they have 50% less water-holding capacity, they are less expensive than traditional wipes.
Jerry Snider, director of innovation at Berry Global Inc. in Evansville, Ind., talked about the company’s commitment to sustainable development, including a goal of using 30% circular plastics by 2030. Berry is focused on using cellulosic materials such as lyocell, hemp and cotton; recycled materials, including postindustrial recycled polypropylene; and renewable materials, including PLA and PHA.
Snider also discussed the importance of considering the supply chain as a whole and the role of each part of the chain in the future of sustainability in the industry. “End users, government regulations, customer and company goals are all sustainability drivers,” said Snider.