02 / Product layers
Explore absorbent pulp, superabsorbent polymers and absorbent nonwovens, distinguishing products from material research.
Explore companies by the region of their headquarters.
Research, public-sector sources and items without confirmed headquarters remain under All. References are not filtered.
Related stories and sources
Selected for their discussion of this layer or its materials. Product descriptions and material research are identified separately.
9 articles · 2 source links
Company HQ: Confitex · New Zealand ↗
www.prnewswire.com · Product description · Company-published source
Confitex describes washable absorbent nonwoven material that does not use superabsorbent polymers. The report concerns absorbent materials and their development.
Awards do not establish measured environmental superiority.
Company HQ: NAGASE · Japan ↗
NAGASE · Material development
NAGASE describes a starch-derived absorbent material intended for light-incontinence pads, at the sample and joint-development stage.
See the source for its stated scope and implementation stage.
Company HQ: Unicharm · Japan ↗
Unicharm · Product description · Company-published source
Unicharm’s October 1, 2025 release describes a thin Lifree insert pad for use with adult pants, scheduled for Japanese release in early October.
The source provides a manufacturer’s explanation of structure and materials. It does not independently establish clinical effects or make absorption claims from different products or markets interchangeable.
Company HQ: Nippon Shokubai · Japan ↗
Nippon Shokubai · Construction start and plan · Company-published source
The announced addition is 50,000 tonnes a year, taking the subsidiary’s planned SAP capacity from 90,000 to 140,000 tonnes. The release schedules mechanical completion for January 2027 and commercial operation for July 2027.
The figures describe planned production capacity, not output already achieved. SAP is a material for disposable diapers, but the announcement does not allocate the expansion to adult products or identify the diaper brands it will supply.
Company HQ: Nippon Shokubai · Japan ↗
Nippon Shokubai · Supply certification · Company-published source
The release places acrylic-acid certification in April 2025 and SAP certification in May. It describes a four-region supply system using biomass-derived feedstock allocated through a mass-balance method.
Certification of this supply route does not establish a measured biobased percentage in every individual SAP particle. The company’s net-zero carbon-footprint explanation includes biogenic carbon accounting; it is not a zero-emission claim for finished diapers or their disposal.
Company HQ: Yuhan-Kimberly · South Korea ↗
Yuhan-Kimberly · Product description · Company-published source
Yuhan-Kimberly’s May 9, 2025 announcement introduces replacement pads for Depend adult underwear. It describes a cotton-like feel, a three-layer absorption design and three fixing tabs.
Cotton-like feel does not mean 100% cotton composition. The release is evidence of the company’s stated material choices, rather than independent verification of medical effects or of the complete product’s environmental impact.
Company HQ: Unicharm · Japan ↗
Unicharm / Lifree · Product announcement
Unicharm announces a RefF tab-style adult product using recycled pulp as part of its raw materials; the full recycled-content percentage is not established.
Part of the raw materials contains recycled pulp; no overall recycled-content percentage is established.
Company HQ: Nippon Shokubai · Japan ↗
Nippon Shokubai · Certified material supply · Company-published source
The company uses a mass-balance approach to allocate biomass-derived raw materials to certified output. It says the products also retain Indonesian halal certification and describes supply from Belgium, Japan and Indonesia at that time.
These statements concern material sourcing and certification. They do not establish biodegradability or performance superiority for finished diapers. The release identifies disposable diapers as a SAP application without naming an adult-incontinence product using the certified material.
Company HQ: Sanyo Chemical · Japan ↗
Sanyo Chemical · Withdrawal and merger · Company-published source
The original notice set out production-stop and disposal plans for relevant subsidiaries. A later company disclosure confirms that SDP Global was absorbed into Sanyo Chemical on April 1, 2025.
The decision and subsequent corporate action belong to different dates. Production stops, equity transfers and the later merger should be followed as separate steps. The disclosures describe group restructuring and do not provide a brand-by-brand assessment of downstream diaper supply.
Company HQ: Unicharm · Japan ↗
www.unicharm.co.jp · Product update · Company-published source
Unicharm describes recycled pulp in a Lifree RefF overnight pad for care facilities.
A Japanese product version and stated service scope.
Company HQ: Sumitomo Seika · Japan ↗
Sumitomo Seika · Sales and development report · Company-published source
The report links development to control of the polymer’s internal and surface crosslinking. It separately describes further development intended to combine higher retention with absorption under load, targeting a launch in fiscal 2026.
The two stages should be distinguished: a product reported as commercially sold and a further grade still under development in the report. The reduction is the supplier’s claim, not a measured saving across all adult-diaper brands.
Background references
EDANA
EDANA describes the role of superabsorbent polymer in absorbing and retaining liquid. It is a material reference, not a comparison of finished products.
Read the original source ↗Unicharm / Lifree
Unicharm says the absorbent paper in this RefF product contains recycled pulp. The same page describes recycled manufacturing offcuts in the package.
Read the original source ↗HARTMANN / MoliCare
HARTMANN describes a recycled cellulose absorbent core in MoliCare Bed Mat Eco. This example concerns a bed-protection product, not a wearable diaper.
Read the original source ↗Continue exploring
One article may discuss several layers. These are links to the same published article, not additional studies or evidence of environmental superiority.
