Wipe makers aim to go green

MANY WIPES ARE MADE OF SYNTHETIC FIBRES WHICH PREVENT THEM FROM BEING COMPOSTABLE OR RECYCLABLE

Around the world the wipe market — including sanitising wipes for the consumer market and the health care industry — is booming.

Smithers, a multinational provider of testing, consulting, information and compliance services, valued the nonwoven wipe market at $19.6bn in 2020. Growth in the industry is being driven by the fact that consumers are using more wipes than ever before. Smithers says concerns over infection control will help the industry resist any recessionary downturn with a forecasted 9.1% compound annual growth rate between 2021 and 2026.

The biggest challenge with many of the wipes currently available in markets around the world is that they are made of synthetic fibres which prevent them from being compostable or recyclable. Globally, wipe manufacturers are therefore looking to develop more sustainable products both in response to increasing legislation such as the European Union’s Single Use Plastics Directive as well as consumer concerns around sustainability. The ultimate aim is biodegradable, compostable or recyclable products which can form part of a circular economy.

Progress is being made. In the UK Kimberly-Clark has launched a new range of Huggies Pure Biodegradable wipes made with 100% natural fibres that biodegrade after 15 days in simulated landfill conditions. Coterie, a US-based baby care brand, has launched a baby wipe which is 100% plantbased and which is both biodegradable and compostable.

The challenge, explains Annette Devenish, marketing director of Sani-touch, a South African manufacturer of a range of medical grade sanitisers and wipes for both the consumer and health care market, is that biodegradable nonwoven wipes are significantly more expensive that combination fibres.

“The challenge for manufacturers is that end users want a product that is 100% biodegradable but they are not prepared to pay more for these products.”

For its part Sani-touch is committed to finding sustainable solutions. Devenish reports that Sani-touch’s goal over the next six months is to convert all its products into either recyclable or biodegradable products — even if the company has to make margin sacrifices to achieve its sustainability goals. Its popular Sani-touch trolley wipes range, found at many retail entrances, is already available in both biodegradable paper and recyclable polypropylene.

“The challenge with any recyclable product — including wipes — is to close the sustainability circle by ensuring the end user actually separates the products and gets them to the correct recycling facilities,” she says. “The next challenge is to further commit to using the recycled material by actively using and promoting the use of repurposed products.”