Biodegradable Diapers and Sanitary Napkins
Biodegradable Diapers and Sanitary Napkins Production. Compostable and Eco-Friendly Disposable Diapers and Sanitary Pads Manufacturing Business
Biodegradable Diaper
Diaper is an absorbent item used by babies or adults to defecate and urinate without going to the toilet. They are made from either non-biodegradable petrochemical based materials and plastics or from biodegradable fibers such as cotton, bamboo, starch, etc.
Many baby diapers are not biodegradable and could take hundreds of years to degrade. While it’s unknown how many years biodegradable materials take to decompose, to serve more environmentally-conscious consumers, there is a growing trend to produce biodegradable baby diapers.
Most of the baby diapers used today are not eco-friendly or biodegradable. In fact, disposable baby diaper takes centuries to decompose fully. In the US people throw around 49 Mn diapers per day and making it a third largest source of household garbage. However, baby diapers are one of the largest contributors to landfills and can harm animals, humans, as well as the environment.
Thus, nowadays, consumers are demanding for eco-friendly baby diapers to prevent baby from rashes, keep them dry as well as reduce landfills. Moreover, various manufacturers are inclining towards the development of innovative solutions such as biodegradable baby diapers with non-chlorine, latex, and dye-free materials to meet growing consumers demand for environmentally friendly baby diapers. Manufacturers are also introducing biodegradable baby diapers made of cornstarch material instead of plastic and without bleaching with chlorine that emits toxins into the water and air.
Consumers are seeking for environmentally friendly diapering options such as gDiapers, developing innovative technologies such as nanotechnologies that can minimize the environmental impact of disposable baby diapers, and increasing birth rate in developing countries are the factors influencing the growth of the biodegradable baby diapers market in the near future.
Biodegradable Sanitary Napkins
Menstrual hygiene is a subject matter of deep concern in India where women, especially in rural areas face challenges in acquiring hygienic absorbents and develop health risks. Over the years, there has been a significant rise in the awareness levels regarding the benefits offered by biodegradable sanitary napkins. They are environmentally sustainable which can easily be disposed of in natural soil. Moreover, it reduces the chances of infection and skin irritation and they are cost effective as well.
On the other hand, non-compostable napkins use chemicals like dioxins, furans, chlorines and fragrances which causes health issues and cannot be recycled and takes hundreds of years to degrade.
Market Outlook
The global biodegradable diapers market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.3% during 2019-2024.
Rising environment concerns represents a key factor driving the demand of diapers. Unlike biodegradable diapers, traditional diapers do not degrade well in a landfill. Moreover, they can take around hundreds of years to decompose. The huge amount of untreated waste added to the landfills every year through plastic diapers can also pollute the ground water. Additionally, disposable diapers also consist of several chemicals that can have a negative impact on health. These include dioxins, sodium polyacrylate, tributyl-tin, volatile organic compounds, dyes, fragrances, etc.
These chemicals may cause itching and various health problems such as damaged immunity, hormone interferences, cancer, respiratory problems etc. Rising awareness on the negative impact of these chemicals is also driving consumers to shift towards biodegradable diapers which are made up of natural materials. Some of the other major factors driving the market include increasing awareness about personal hygiene, decreasing mortality rate among infants, rising demand for adult diapers, increasing government initiatives, etc.
Companies are developing some eco-friendly and chlorine free diaper solutions, growing hygiene concern among consumers attributed to an increase in demand for biodegradable baby diapers during the forecast period. Moreover, various manufacturers are developing hybrid baby diapers by combining both cloth and eco-friendly disposable components, the rise in environmentally-conscious consumers, and growing product premiumization trend is expected to increase the biodegradable baby diapers market during the forecast period.
Many companies are also focused on developing innovative cloth and reusable diapers to reduce disposable diaper waste. Moreover, development of ultra-absorbent core technology that enables the production of thinner biodegradable baby diapers and steady growth in online sales channel for distributing product direct to customers is the primary factor accelerating the growth of the biodegradable baby diapers market.
However, in the foreseeable future, the biodegradable diapers segment is estimated to become more popular and witness a significant growth. The can be attributed to the less barrier entry faced with regulatory issues and environmental needs. Based on the absorption type, the high absorption diaper segment is expected to hold the major market share over the projection period. Moving forward, the rise of e-commerce has made a huge impact in the global baby diaper market. This is evident from the surge of online purchasing consumer base for baby diapers. E-commerce provides consumers with the benefits of convenience to online delivery, price comparison, and subscription services.
Some of the other major factors driving the market include increasing awareness about personal hygiene, decreasing mortality rate among infants, rising demand for adult diapers, increasing government initiatives, etc.
Some of the key players operating in the global biodegradable baby diapers market are GroVia, Naty AB, Hengan International Group Company Limited, Seventh Generation, Inc., The Honest Company, The Hain Celestial Group, Inc., Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Kao Corporation, Bumkins Company, The Procter & Gamble Company, Svenska Cellulosa AB, Ontex Group, Unicharm Corporation, and others. GroVia provides one of the best environmentally-friendly hybrid biodegradable baby diapers solution that contains both cloth absorbency and a waterproof layer made from biodegradable and compostable materials.
Current Scenario of the Disposal of Sanitary Napkins
Usually, sanitary napkins are wrapped in plastic or paper and thrown along with the domestic waste. Some flush them down not realizing that it will ultimately block the sewer. Around 432 million pads/sanitary napkins are generated in India annually, weighing around 9000 tonnes. They can cover landfills spread over 24 hectares. The burning of sanitary napkins produces toxic fumes that contain dioxins and furan. These disposed menstrual products pose a threat to the health of the waste-pickers when they come in their contact to segregate them.
The unhygienic and reckless means of disposing the used sanitary napkins adversely affect the environment. The heaps of soiled waste in the landfills contaminate the soil, air and water. The lack of standardized methods of sustainable sanitary waste disposal has paved the way for them to become a breeding ground for infections and diseases in India.
Government launches Biodegradable Sanitary Napkins
Launched by the Government of India on March 8, 2018, ‘Suvidha’ pads are oxo-biodegradable and will be made available in packs of 4, priced at Rs. 2.50 per pad. They will be found across 586 Indian districts, at Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi centres.
‘Suvidha’ pads will be available by May 28, 2018, which is also World Menstrual Hygiene Day. These affordable sanitary pads promise to promote hygiene, ensure the ease of disposal, and keep the environment clean. These sanitary pads consist of pine wood paper, silicon paper, butter paper, non-woven paper and cotton. They are UV light radiated which helps kills germs.
SUVIDHA napkin has special additive added in it, which makes it biodegradable when it reacts with oxygen after it is used and discarded. It will go long way in making basic hygiene requirement aid for women affordable especially for the underprivileged sections. The initiative will make the basic hygiene requirement aid affordable for the underprivileged women.
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