Hygiene Components Report

Like other hygiene components suppliers, there’s also a been a focus on sustainability for adhesive producers.

“It is the goal of many hygiene manufacturers to reduce add-on levels of adhesives, energy consumption and carbon footprint while also minimizing waste by incorporating thinner substrates and modified core designs,” says Nora Behrens, EIMEA Personal Care Marketing Specialist, Hygiene, Tissue & Towel, Health & Beauty, H.B. Fuller.

Adhesives derived from renewable feedstocks are not totally new to the industry, she adds. “Years ago, there was a change from renewable to fossil fuel-based feedstocks. Now the industry is back to looking at bio-based adhesives with the overall aim to reduce the carbon footprint. At H.B. Fuller, we are dedicated to finding innovative solutions that help reduce the environmental impact. As bio-based adhesives gain more popularity, our scientists around the globe are already working on new adhesive formulations that meet the bio content levels desired by our customers.”

On the new products side, H.B. Fuller recently introduced its new elastic attachment adhesive Full-Care 8068 to address the growth and increasing popularity of pull-on pants in the baby diaper and adult incontinence market. This elastic attachment adhesive is designed to meet the high-performance standards required by both producer and consumer. Full-Care 8068 is a clean-running adhesive providing excellent creep resistance and in-use performance while maximizing manufacturer production efficiency.

In other news, to address the growing needs of its customers in Egypt, Turkey, the Middle East and Africa, H.B. Fuller has invested in a new green-field plant in Cairo which will increase its capabilities and commitments to the emerging markets. H.B. Fuller will be able to supply high-quality adhesives solutions in various vital areas, thanks to the facility’s anticipated world-class manufacturing capabilities.

Bostik, another key adhesive supplier to the hygiene industry, takes a holistic approach to meeting its customers’ needs. “Every Bostik product needs to bring value to the article producer and/or the consumer,” says Jack Hughes, global digital marketing manager, Bostik. “As such, it should be connected with their goals in one or more of the following areas: enhanced operational efficiency, improved consumer confidence, greater profitability and/or the ability to deliver improved social responsibility, i.e., to be more sustainable. Our products should do more than bond; they are enablers.”

Across Bostik’s comprehensive product lines for construction, elastic attachment, core, pad attachment and hot melt wetness indication, the company uses adhesive attributes to help its customers decide which product is the best fit for their needs. “Not every product for every application has the same selection of attributes,” Hughes explains. “This reflects the differing needs, expectations and business goals of our customers across applications, market segments and across geographies.”

Viewing the adhesive as the enabler, Bostik needs to ensure that its products will bond the article manufacturers’ substrates of choice. “Although just 3% of the weight of a diaper, the role of the adhesive is critical; even more so with plant-based materials, as typical alternatives to adhesives fail to sufficiently bond these substrates at all,” Hughes says. “As new substrates become available, we have the responsibility to ensure that we can offer adhesives to allow the customer to incorporate these materials in their products. Bostik’s adhesives can enable the production of more sustainable products, and also support more sustainable and efficient production processes.”

As product manufacturers look to increase the levels of renewable content in their products, Bostik recently launched its Nuplaviva renewably sourced adhesive product line. Nuplaviva is not only renewably sourced but bonds well to a full range of renewable substrates. The first two products available in this series were construction adhesives Nuplaviva c50 and Nuplaviva c75. In May 2022, Nuplaviva i90, a 90% renewably sourced hot melt wetness indicator, was added to Bostik’s ‘socially responsible’ product line. “We will continue to add products beyond construction and wetness indication as well as solutions with greater levels of renewable content to this product line in the coming months,” says Hughes.