VIEWPOINT New Hygiene Products Get Personal

“At the end of the day, your job isn’t to get the requirements right – your job is to change the world.” – Jeff Patton, Veteran Product Manager and Consultant

Any good thing that has resulted from my efforts have been driven by personal experience that shaped my world view. I believe what makes us feel most useful, fulfilled and purpose driven (what we all want, right?) is when we engage our time, effort, talent, and resources with endeavors that have meaning and also can make a positive difference for others.

The more I see presentations for new innovation, the more I see a pattern of entrepreneurs inventing and reinventing products based on their own experience. Maybe this is how it always has been in history, but I never connected the dots.

One category of textiles, hygiene, is not known for change. It is dominated by large legacy companies who provide important and essential hygiene products to consumers. They earned the prime spots on shelves for a reason – for generations, they have supplied the mainstream consumer with choices that are trusted as safe and highly effective. So what’s there to innovate?

From user experience, entrepreneurs are seeing gaps where they think they can make a difference in niche product markets. Their presentations often begin like this: “When we had a baby, when my Mom struggled with incontinence, when I learned about environmental waste from hygiene products,” etc. Some of these niche ideas are catching on, just check out KUDOS Diapers (mykudos.com), a brand we reported on in its infancy (November/ December IFJ 2022, p. 16) and now has shelf-space in Walmart!

In this issue, you will read about several ground-breaking innovations inspired by personal experiences of the developer. For instance, on page 12, you will read the story of ZymoChem and their first-tomarket scalable, 100% bio-based, biodegradable super absorbent polymer (SAP). Co-founder Harshal Chokhawala, PhD and his wife had twins ... and the rest you can say is history as his company began to research and develop the creation of a scalable environmentally-friendly SAP.

On page 30, in a review of Hygienix 2024, you’ll learn about several companies who launched new products that take special consideration of the environment, demographic segments, fiber choices, community building, and more, as differentiators.

Other articles to note: On page 18, Geoff Fisher reviews how natural renewable resources are making their way into medical and healthcare textiles, while on page 22, Marie O’Mahony explores nextgen advances of advanced textiles.

On page 26, Arun Rao brings another interesting Q&A from India, one of the hottest textile growth markets, with an interview of Rajat Kumar Kedia, Managing Director, Manjushree Spntek Pvt. Ltd. Shows and exhibitions continue to attract record crowds, and in this issue you read what is in store for the Cellulose Fibres Conference (p. 16), JEC World (p. 36), and IDEA®Show 2025 (p. 37). Did you want an opportunity to share about your company’s latest invention? Share your story with our vast readership of 16,000+ subscribers. Check out the IFJ Editorial Calendar on page 4 and email your story pitch to me at csmith@inda.org! Just keep innovating!

Caryn Smith Chief Content Officer & Publisher, INDA Media, IFJ