Hot Air Cotton vs. Spunbond Non-Woven Fabric! Which is the Right Choice for Baby Diaper Breathable Materials?

According to reports, a set of diaper survey data shows that 20.47% of users pay great attention to the breathability of hot air cotton in baby diapers when purchasing them. The sweat glands and pores on a baby's skin are very small, and the skin's temperature regulation ability is not well-developed. If the diaper has poor permeability, after urine is absorbed, heat and moisture will accumulate in the diaper. This easily makes the baby feel stuffy and hot, and may cause the baby's buttocks to become red, swollen, and inflamed, leading to diaper rash.

Since a hot and humid environment is created inside the diaper when urine is produced, from a professional perspective, the so-called breathability actually refers to water vapor permeability, which can be expressed by the water vapor transmission rate (g/cm²·24h). The bottom film, i.e., the outer layer of the diaper, is usually the main factor affecting the diaper's breathability and also a factor related to the baby's skin that comes into contact with the skin-friendly layer. By utilizing the difference between water droplets (with a minimum diameter of 20μm) and water vapor molecules (with a diameter of 0.0004μm), the non-woven hot air cotton material used in the bottom film achieves both water resistance and breathability.

The surface layer is one of the main components of a baby diaper and also a very important part. Since the surface layer is in direct contact with the baby, its comfort directly affects the baby. The following is an introduction to the performance requirements for diaper components and the selection of non-woven fabrics.

Hot air non-woven fabric is a type of non-woven fabric that belongs to thermal bonding (including hot rolling and hot air bonding). In the carding process of short fibers, hot air from drying equipment is blown through the fiber web, and the heat generated thereby realizes the bonding of the non-woven fabric.

For spunbond non-woven fabric (often referred to as spunbond hot air cotton in the context), polymer particles are first extruded and drawn to form continuous filaments. These filaments are then laid into a web, and the web is processed into non-woven fabric through methods such as self-bonding of fibers, thermal bonding, chemical bonding, or mechanical reinforcement. Spunbond fabrics are made of long fibers and are produced from plastic pellets.

Characteristics of Hot Air Non-Woven Fabric:

• High bulkiness and good elasticity

• Soft hand feel

• Strong heat retention

• Excellent breathability and water permeability

• However, it has low strength and is prone to deformation.

Characteristics of Spunbond Non-Woven Fabric:

• It is manufactured by directly spinning from macromolecular particles (plastic pellets) followed by processing with heated and pressurized rollers, without the use of short fibers in the traditional carding sense.

• It possesses excellent mechanical properties, such as high tensile strength, good elongation at break, and strong tear strength.

• It has a thin thickness, but its softness and breathability are inferior to those of hot air non-woven fabric.

Therefore, generally, high-quality baby diapers use hot air non-woven fabric for the surface layer. Spunbond non-woven fabric is widely used in the healthcare industry, but many diaper manufacturers choose to use spunbond non-woven fabric to cut costs.