As manufacturers of nonwoven products continue to seek ways not only to differentiate their products but also to meet increased demand for more “natural” or “sustainable” product options, the emergence of new raw material formats have acted not just as a new product feature but also as an opportunity to offer a new marketing message to potential customers.

From cotton to hemp to linen to rayon, natural-based fiber formats are being used by multinational corporations and up and comers in the industry, but the development of these formats have not come without challenges like balancing performance with price or securing stable supply chains.

According to India cellulose fiber manufacturer Birla, designing a sustainable and plastic-free alternative product requires careful consideration of performance, cost and scalability. It involves addressing various aspects, including: comparing the essential performance criteria of the alternative product with the one currently used by consumers, ensuring that claims, such as being plastic-free, can be verified and substantiated and choosing materials that are cost-effective and readily available in large quantities to replace the majority of plastic-based products.

“The crucial factor in this transition is the selection of appropriate raw materials or fibers,” says Rahul Bansal, head global business development & AVP Sales—Nonwovens. “Over the past five years, our R&D and application development teams have been dedicated to creating new functional fiber solutions tailored to specific applications. Our development objective has been crystal clear: the new fibers must be sustainable, with minimal or no additional cost, and must deliver the desired performance in end products.”

Birla has successfully integrated functional sustainable fibers into various applications, including flushable wipes, absorbent hygiene products top sheets and secondary top sheets, liquid filtration, battery separators, and flame retardant mattresses. The company recently announced it had collaborated with Indian fem care start up Sparkle on the development of a plastic-free sanitary pad.
“Partnering with Sparkle was a natural and seamless decision due to our shared focus on plastic-free, sustainable, and cost-effective period care pads and other absorbent hygiene products (AHP),” Bansal says.

Additional partnerships with companies like Ginni Filaments, a nonwovens producer, and Dima Products, another hygiene manufacturer, facilitated rapid iterations, allowing Birla to efficiently convert its new fibers into end products. “This approach enabled us to develop various product options that are suitable for the specific design requirements of different brands,” Bansal says. “We are continuously seeking value chain partners who share our values and vision.”

Kelheim Fibres has also focused on partnerships in developing plastic-free disposable products. Last year, the company—which produces a biobased viscose specialty fiber as a  great alternative to synthetic materials in general—developed an absorbent pad for washable Sumo diapers, and earlier this year worked with nonwovens producer Sandler and the hygiene manufacturer PelzGroup to develop a plastic-free panty liner. In the area of reusables, Kelheim has developed a concept for a period underwear garment together with the Italian textile machine manufacturer Santoni, which is not only bio-based, but also extremely efficient and resource-saving in production as there’s (almost) no cutting waste. 

“The industry as a whole is evolving to meet the challenge of sustainability, and this is an exciting time for companies and consumers alike and many companies, like Kelheim Fibers, have met these challenges head on through partnerships,” says Marina Crnoja-Cosic, director new business development. “With increasing public awareness and concern about the environmental impact of single-use products, companies are recognizing the need to provide more sustainable options to their customers. This shift is not only driven by consumer demand, but also by regulatory pressures and the desire to reduce production costs and waste. In order to combine the ‘natural benefits’ of our fibers with the performance consumers are looking for, we are able to adapt our existing fiber types specifically to meet the demands of the end product and the individual processing steps in the value chain.”

Perhaps the biggest influence to nonwovens and nonwoven product design is the European Union’s Single Use Plastics Directive, which became effective in July 2021. This legislation, as well as impending similar measures in the U.S., Canada and other countries, has put the pressure on makers of wipes and feminine hygiene products, which are on the first list of products subject to regulations and labeling requirements. The response has been widespread with some companies already vowing to eliminate plastics from their products.

TruCotton’s unbleached cotton, is able to achieve similar performance in wipes and other disposable applications as similar products made with polyester. Both improve the bulkiness in wipes, offer a surface for lotion release, prevent fluid migration and prevent wet collapse. This is allowing TruCotton to find application in areas like industrial wipes, which are being challenged by the SUP directive.

“TruCotton has an unparalleled sustainability profile. We use a mechanical process which uses zero water, process heat or chemistry,” says Lawson Gary, CEO. “This unique process allows for cotton fibers to be used in their natural state, thus giving TruCotton an unprecedentedly low CO2 footprint.”

Recent developments from TruCotton include a rapidly dispersing short-cut version of TruCotton (TC-1S-SC) for the wetlaid industry. This treated short-cut fiber allows for fast introduction to water even though greige, unbleached cotton is naturally hydrophobic and, thus, difficult to submerge and disperse in wetlaid systems. TruCotton can add value to wetlaid substrates, as it is a hydrophobic cellulose which will add bulk density and not suffer wet collapse or swelling like other absorbent natural materials. Trial amounts of this short-cut fiber are currently available. 

The second material advancement centers around commercially available TruCotton-based nonwoven materials which readily absorb any type of oil. This commercially available, oil absorbing industrial wipe is produced by Sontara under its new Sontara EC(R) line of compostable engineered materials. The addition of hydrophobic unbleached cotton allows this wipe to absorb almost five times its weight in oil, as well as having a similar water absorbing capacity. This industrial wipe offers a sustainable, compostable solution without the need for oil-absorbing plastic fibers. This is another way that the unique properties of TruCotton can help create sustainable solutions for the nonwovens industry.

In addition to wipes, cotton continues to find its way into absorbent hygiene products where the material is favored not only for its sustainability profile but also for its ability to absorb quickly and be gentle on skin. The cotton-based Kudos diaper brand recently secured $250,000 in funding in exchange for a 10% stake in the company from Mark Cuban and Gwyneth Paltrow, the actress and founder of lifestyle brand Goop, after founder Amrita Saigal appeared on Shark Tank. The duo agreed to invest in the diaper brand after hearing Saigal’s background as an MIT-trained engineer, a Harvard Business School graduate and a part of Procter & Gamble’s research team as well as the story behind developing the award-winning diaper brand featuring 100% cotton touching baby’s skin.

Launched last year, Kudos’ annual sales are currently about $850,000, according to Saigal, but that number is expected to reach $4.5 million in the next year when the company should become profitable. Late last year, Kudos launched cotton-based baby wipes, and the brand is planning to extend into swim diapers and training pants in the near term and adult diapers in the longer term.

Kudos uses a 100% cotton topsheet, meaning that the baby’s bottom touches only cotton, not polypropylene, which is found in most other diapers. Cotton is the number one pediatrician-recommended material to combat and prevent skin conditions like diaper rashes and eczema. Other features include a double-layer of absorbent material to protect against leaks, extreme softness and thinness.

On the Shelf

Harper Hygienics is recently rolling out what is reportedly the first-ever baby wipe made from the natural fiber linen. The Poland-based company has chosen linen as the key ingredient in its new baby are line—Kindii Linen Care—which contains a range of baby wipes as well as cotton pads and buds.

Calling line the second most durable fiber in the world, the company says it chose the fiber because research has proven that it is aseptic and reduces bacterial levels. It’s also hypoallergenic and doesn’t irritate even the most sensitive skin and has a high absorbency level.

Meanwhile, Acmemills, a manufacturer of innovative nonwoven fabrics, has developed Natura, a revolutionary line of flushable and compostable wipes made using bamboo, which is well known for its rapid growth and minimal ecological impact. Acmemills is making the wipe’s substrate material on a 2.4-meter and 3.5-meter-wide hydroentangle line that is well equipped to process more sustainable fibers.

“We are thrilled to introduce Natura as the ultimate solution to the environmental challenges posed by non-flushable wipes,” says Matt Utley, CSO of Acmemills. “Our investment in cutting-edge technology, combined with our commitment to sustainable sourcing, demonstrates our dedication to providing eco-conscious consumers with a reliable and responsible choice. Natura not only offers an effective alternative, but it also contributes to the well-being of our planet.”

Hot for Hemp

Hemp is also emerging as a popular choice for hygiene manufacturers thanks to its sustainability profile. Not only is hemp sustainable and renewable, it can also be grown with minimal impact. Last year, Southern California native Val Emanuel developed Rif, a feminine care company, offering products made using hemp after realizing the material’s potential as an absorbent product.

Rif care currently offers pads in three absorbencies—regular, super and overnight. The pads feature a hemp and organic cotton fiber blend topsheet, a responsibly sourced and chlorine-free tree pulp core—without the use of super absorbent polymers (SAP)—and a sugar-based plastic backsheet, making it fully biodegradable. “My co-founder and best friend Rebecca Caputo is also working with our biotechnology partners to make our pads even more absorbent with other plant-based materials that have been underutilized,” Emanuel says.

She believes hemp is a great alternative to other plant-based options on the market. “The feminine care industry was missing an alternative solution that was as good as cotton,” she says. “There were other products using bamboo, banana and even someone who came out with pineapple fibers, but at the end of the day we needed something that had a naturally better fiber composition, plus hemp is antimicrobial.”

In terms of sustainability, hemp has about a quarter of the carbon footprint as cotton, and as far as comfort, she believes it’s on par with cotton. “Imagine when you wear a pair of underwear and it feels like you have nothing on, we tried to get a fiber blend that really reflected that feeling. We tried around 10 different fiber blends and then we got it. Also, 80% of women use pads and more than half of them say pads are uncomfortable, so we really changed that. The hemp/cotton blend feels extremely soft and luxurious.”

Bast Fibre Technologies Inc. (BFT), currently supplies hemp fibers for nonwoven-based products from facilities in the U.S. and Germany. The U.S. site, located in Lumberton, NC, was acquired from Georgia-Pacific Cellulose in 2022, to allow it to meet rapidly growing demand for the company’s sustainable fibers while its European site, in Tönisvorst, Germany, was acquired from Faser Veredlung in 2022. The acquisitions enable BFT to meet growing consumer demand for its sustainable fibers, which are sold under the sero brand name, in hygiene and other applications.

According to Jason Finnis, executive vice president, demand continues to grow for BFT fibers driven not only by consumer demand but also by technology developments that have allowed nonwoven producers to process the fibers at higher and higher percentages. The two sites are important steps in the company’s  long-term strategy of building significant high quality manufacturing capacity for its global customers supporting its core mission of ‘grow local, process local, sell local.’

“We have a goal to build out significant manufacturing capacity while supporting the potential of these grown fibers,” he says. “We are working hard to keep up with the demand in a lot of markets like feminine hygiene and wipes.”

The Lumberton site is a top producer of quality fiber and with the current infrastructure and excellent, highly experienced team at Lumberton, BFT plans to expand its production capabilities over the next few years. Meanwhile, FVT has a long history of working with natural fibers and this acquisition has accelerated the company’s transition towards becoming a fully integrated manufacturing company. FVT has consistently produced the highest quality bast fibers for BFT, so it was a logical step to bring this capability in house. Europe is leading the way on single-use plastic reduction strategies and the ability to produce these fibers in Europe will become increasingly important for the production of truly sustainable nonwovens in wipes, hygiene products and more.

On the durables side, in late 2022, Hempitecture established the first nonwoven manufacturing facility of its kind in the U.S. in Jerome, ID. The Sun Valley, ID-based company is a nonwoven materials manufacturer that uses biobased, carbon-capturing inputs to create healthier, high-performing products.

The new 33,000-square-foot energy efficient facility produces a wide range of biobased nonwoven products, with hemp fiber being the primary component, using a custom-designed manufacturing process exclusive to Hempitecture. The unique line configuration works with natural fibers to create a wide range of products for multiple industries. Products include sustainable liners for cold freight partners who serve industries such as meal delivery services and the pharmaceutical industry, and HempWool Thermal Insulation, a sustainable, bio-based high-performing building insulation material that is fire resistant, safe to touch, and carbon negative.

Lenzing Focuses on Carbon Neutral Nonwovens

Lenzing Group, a leading global producer of wood-based specialty fibers, has expanded its sustainable viscose fiber portfolio globally with the launch of carbon neutral Veocel branded viscose fibers for the European and U.S. markets. In Asia, Lenzing will convert the existing production capacity for conventional viscose into capacity for responsible specialty fibers in the second half of this year. The expansion represents Veocel’s latest act in providing nonwovens value chain partners and brands with offerings that make a positive impact on the environment and empower an industry-wide shift to reduce carbon footprints.

“Everything we do is centered around Veocel’s mission to be a responsible everyday care brand and demonstrate our care for the future of our planet. We believe it is imperative for us to not only reduce our own carbon emissions, but also to empower our partners to reduce their carbon footprint. The launch of our carbon neutral Veocel Viscose fibers via our production plant in Austria and the investment in converting our production plant in Asia to production of environmentally responsible viscose, highlights our commitment to ongoing innovation and driving positive environmental impact. We hope that by taking responsibility to effect real change within the industry, we can build a better tomorrow for future generations,” says Monique Buch, vice president, Global Nonwovens Business, Lenzing. 

For the carbon neutral Veocel Viscose fibers Lenzing has partnered with ClimatePartner, a leading solution provider for corporate climate action, and the fibers, made in Austria, became available May 1. With effective liquid management properties, the wood-based fibers are targeted for the wipes and absorbent hygiene product segment, an area where demand has significantly increased since the Covid-19 pandemic.

To support the growing demand for sustainable nonwoven products, Lenzing has partnered with wipes substrate specialist Suominen on  the carbon neutral fiber launch. The companies together have created the first carbon neutral nonwoven, Biolace Zero to the market.

According to Suominen, Biolace Zero, made of 100% cellulosic carbon neutral Veocel Lyocell fibers, is 100% biodegradable, compostable and plastic-free. It can be used for many kinds of wiping applications like baby, personal care, and household wipes due to its excellent wet and dry strength and improved softness. Initially available only in Europe, Suominen announced in March it was expanding production of the materials in North America.

Additionally, it has been announced that  Albaad, one of the largest wet wipe manufacturers in the world, has used Lenzing’s upgraded lyocell shortcut fibers for its Hydrofine product, the most saleable flushable wetlaid in Europe.

“We are proud to cooperate with the global Lenzing group in developing improvements for lyocell fibers and bringing new innovation that enhances our Hydrofine product and improves the production process. Our unique Hydrofine product, which is considered a breakthrough in the flushable market, is based on these upgraded fibers that help to increase production efficiency, reduce the level of waste and improve customer satisfaction. Collaborating with Lenzing’s R&D team was a valuable experience that provided both sides with great knowledge. Albaad is committed to innovation, to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint, and to ensure ensuring continued improvement of our products’ performance,” says Jacob Heen, CEO of Albaad.

To achieve this Lenzing Group has upgraded its lyocell shortcut fibers by Veocel for the flushable market not only to achieve high dispersibility, which make them ideal for use in flushable wipes, but also an upgraded finish, which is an added benefit for wipes manufacturers. The upgraded finish enhances efficiency of the wipe production process, improves the processability of fibers and helps to create higher quality products. The fibers are also offered as carbon neutral, thus contributing to a global push to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint.

“We’re always looking for new ways to innovate and improve the performance of our fibers in the flushable market,” says Claudio Zampino, commercial director, Specialty Applications for Global Nonwovens Business at Lenzing. “It is important to engage in continuous discussions with value chain partners to address their challenges and needs as we drive innovation in the nonwovens sector. With 27 years of experience producing lyocell shortcut fibers, we will continue to keep leveraging our extensive research labs to offer customers the best premium lyocell shortcut fibers possible.”

The new finish of the upgraded lyocell shortcut fibers offers protection against mechanical stress at commonly used water temperatures such as 0°C to 40°C during the wetlaid production process. This helps to avoid the creation of fiber lumps during the opening and dilution of fibers in preparation tanks. The finished product will also have enhanced physical quality and appearance thanks to the upgraded finish which improves web formation during the process.

Traditional Format Fibers Focus on Sustainability

Even as more natural fiber-based products emerge, plastic-based polymers like polypropylene and polyester remain the largest raw material consumed by the nonwovens industry globally.  Not only does it offer attractive prices (normally) and performance, its supply is unmatched. There are simply not enough fiber materials available to replace plastic-based fibers, both in nonwovens and other industries.

However, faced with the challenge of making their materials more sustainable, suppliers of these materials continue to focus on collaborations to achieve this. In March, Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL), one of the world’s leading sustainable chemical companies, and technology specialist Polymateria Limited signed an exclusive 10-year partnership to help household brands bring biodegradable nonwoven hygiene products to the market through biotransformation technology.

This collaboration provides a new solution for dealing with essential items like face masks and wipes once they have been used, ensuring they can return safely to nature without leaving behind any microplastics or toxic residue. It is specifically designed to tackle plastic leaking into the environment as unmanaged waste, meaning it is neither collected for landfill nor recycled. Given that most of the plastic in the oceans originates as unmanaged waste on land, addressing the unmanaged waste challenge is key. This partnership aims to do just that for essential hygiene items.

IVL’s exclusive right to use Polymateria’s unique biotransformation technology for nonwovens supports application in non-virgin resin recycling while providing a solution for ‘fugitive’ used articles, especially those items that end up in the natural environment. This biotransformation process involves the plastic transforming into a bioavailable wax in the open terrestrial environment, whereupon the wax is fully consumed by bacteria, microbes and fungi, leaving just carbon dioxide, water and biomass. The pulp component is inherently biodegradable under similar conditions.

Innovating for more sustainable end-consumer products is in the DNA of both IVL and Polymateria. Yash Lohia, chairman of IVL’s ESG Council, says: “I am delighted with this 10-year partnership. After an extensive search and technical due-diligence process, Polymateria’s technology is clearly a step above solutions of the past and fits very well with IVL’s sustainability strategy. I look forward to seeing these products on supermarket shelves in the future, hopefully being marketed by some of the biggest brands in the world.”

Shachar Rachim, CEO of IVL’s Hygiene Business, adds: “This is a great example of where technically focused companies work together on a common challenge, using their respective technologies in synergy to achieve a unique, and valuable, product proposition. It’s a positive direction for the market.”

Nonwovens made by IVL using Polymateria’s technology have been independently tested against, and meet the criteria in, the BSI PAS 9017 standard for the biodegradation of polyolefins in an open-air terrestrial environment published by the British Standards Institution in October 2020. This standard and/or its criteria—the first in the world to ensure plastic can biotransform in the open terrestrial environment without creating any microplastics—is being adopted around the world including in India, Malaysia, the Philippines and Hungary.

Similarly, US Fibers continues to focus on recycled fibers, which has been its main focus since it started operations in 1994. According to vice president, Teddy Oh, the role of recycled materials continues to expand as its customers focus on providing circular solutions for its customers. 

“We continue to find new ways to use products that would end up in landfills,” Oh adds. “Our operations combine both art and science to provide innovative ways do use materials. Our history and extensive experience in recycling allow us to produce fibers that exceed our customers expectations at an attractive cost/value.”
While recycling is not new to US Fibers, what has changed is that in the past recycling efforts were driven by economics, where now the focus is on offering a truly sustainable product, Oh adds.

“We believe (growth) is driven by the consumer who has become more knowledgeable in recycling solutions,” he adds.

The focus on biodegradability led Fiberpartner, in association with U.S. partner Primaloft, to commercialize a commercial biodegradable solution using Primaloft Bio technology, which creates fibers that biodegrade by hydrodegradation or can be chemically recycled. These fibers are based on core/sheath in 100% PET and available in 2 and 4 den–cut lengths from 32 mm to 105 mm.

Fiberpartner has pushed the boundaries of innovation with its new PrimaLoft Bio fibers, resulting in a new revolutionary Bico low melt fiber.

The core/sheath composition is perfectly powered by PrimaLoft Bio. The core is composed of 100% recycled PET, while the sheath is biobased PE.

The fibers are available for air through and airlaid applications and are engineered to bond to both synthetic and natural fibers.

Fiberpartner has successfully tested its fiber in biodegradability tests following the standards, and it is now commercially available to customers, adding to the range of PET, PP, PLA and Bico fibers for nonwovens—designed to return to materials found in nature.

Earlier this year, at INDEX 2023, the company was honored for its BicoBio staple fiber,  a future proof bicomponent fiber core sheath construction, developed from materials with a low carbon footprint. It can be processed in a variety of nonwovens technologies and used for different applications. The bio-based PE is produced from sugar cane and has a negative carbon footprint. And the additive technology, PrimaLoft Bio, allows it to biodegrade in the environments where most plastics eventually finds themselves: landfills and ocean water.

Fiberpartner developed the product with FENW, a Taiwanese partner.