The Health and Environmental Advantages of Sustainable Personal Care Products
Diapers pose an existential threat to Mother Earth. The World Economic Forum cites used diapers as one of the largest contributors to plastic waste.
According to multiple surveys, over 300,000 disposable diapers end up in landfills around the world. The picture is grimmer when you consider that these findings didn’t consider adult diapers, also known as incontinence briefs.
Fortunately, it’s exciting to know that seniors with incontinence can minimize environmental damage caused by adult diapers by upgrading to greener options. All it takes is to find a reputable, eco-friendly adult diaper brand.
But if you’ve never tried eco-friendly incontinence briefs, you’re probably wondering what these products are and whether they live up to the hype. Well, that’s precisely what this article shall focus on.
What Are Eco-friendly Adult Diapers?
Eco-friendly adult diapers are incontinence briefs designed to produce minimal environmental pollution.
Understanding the construction material of an adult diaper is important to determine whether it meets the threshold for eco-friendliness.
All eco-friendly adult diapers are typically made from natural fibers, such as cotton, silk, bamboo, and wood pulp.
Besides being naturally sourced, the fibers used to manufacture eco-friendly incontinence briefs should be obtained from organic sources. For instance, cotton and bamboo plants must have been cultivated using organic methods for their raw materials to be deemed truly eco-friendly.
An adult diaper’s chemical composition also determines its eco-friendliness. Again, the focus here is on all-natural substances.
For instance, most incontinence briefs contain synthetic forms of super absorbent polymer (SAP), a crystal-like substance also called sodium polyacrylate. Because SAP is synthetic, it is non-biodegradable, and long-term exposure to it may also present health concerns to a diaper wearer.
Why Should You Switch To Eco-Friendly Adult Diapers?
The biggest argument favoring eco-friendly adult diapers is that they pose a minimal environmental threat.
As already hinted, eco-friendly diapers are typically made from natural, biodegradable fibers. These fibers break down more effectively, easing up our already-choked landfills.
Switching to eco-friendly diapers lets you support environmental preservation efforts, albeit passively. It’s your little contribution to Sustainable Development Goal #7.
However, the environmental benefits of eco-friendly incontinence briefs goes beyond their biodegradability. The processes involved in manufacturing these diapers are also environmentally safe.
Eco-friendly adult diaper brands typically prioritize sustainable manufacturing practices, such as recycling. Recycling reduces deforestation, ultimately preserving the natural environment.
Many eco-friendly adult diaper companies also prefer to source their raw materials locally. Local raw material sourcing, coupled with recycling finished goods, lowers the amount of fossil fuel required to ship such products from various sources to manufacturing plants. That consequently supports Planet Earth by reducing the amount of carbon footprint.
Below are other reasons to switch to eco-friendly adult diapers;
1. Economic Benefits
Natural products tend to be costlier than their synthetic versions. The same logic applies to eco-friendly versus regular adult diapers.
However, most eco-friendly diapers are designed to be reusable. That makes them cost-effective in the long run.
Reusable adult diapers are meant to be washed and reworn several times before you have to dispose of them. They differ from disposable diapers, which you must toss into the trash right after the first usage.
Note that you can also get your hands on reasonably priced eco-friendly single-use diapers. It all depends on your choice of brand.
2. Health Benefits
Remember that chemical composition is one of the two critical qualifiers of an eco-friendly adult diaper.
Certain incontinence briefs contain toxic compounds, such as synthetic polymers, that may leach into the ground and alter the soil’s chemistry. Such chemicals might also contaminate groundwater, posing even graver risks to the local flora and fauna.
Moreover, the harmful compounds in adult diapers can form dioxins and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) when incinerated in landfills. Both compounds can harm a wider ecosystem when they interact with other environmental factors, such as rainwater and powerful winds.
But that’s only half the problem.
The toxic ingredients in adult diapers may also cause skin irritation. These compounds can react with various chemicals in urine and feces to trigger unbearable itchiness.
Besides, exposure to certain adult diaper ingredients, such as SAP and fragrances, is associated with upper respiratory problems and even male infertility.
Fortunately, you can avoid the health risks associated with regular adult diapers by switching to eco-friendly briefs.
In addition to their biodegradability, most eco-friendly diapers are hypoallergenic. The briefs are unlikely to cause significant skin irritation, provided that you change them often enough.
3. Better Performance
It’s exciting to know that sustainable adult diaper manufacturers didn’t sacrifice performance at the altar of eco-friendliness.
Ecologically-sound diapers are just as efficient at managing incontinence as their synthetic counterparts. Most eco-friendly diapers have a thick absorbency layer made from advanced plant materials. The layer’s thickness rating varies depending on your incontinence level. If you have severe incontinence, you can choose ultra-thick diapers.
Staying with performance, eco-friendly diapers come with additional leak-proof accessories like booster pads.
Booster pads are typically worn inside an incontinence brief. They feature a flow-through material that provides additional leak protection by absorbing urinary or fecal fluids before they get to the outer diaper.
Wrap Up
The demand for biodegradable adult diapers has skyrocketed recently as consumers become more eco-conscious. However, not every product marketed as “green” or “organic” is eco-friendly. It’s imperative to research the materials and active chemical ingredients in an adult diaper to fully vouch for its eco-friendliness.
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