With more than 150 delegates from across the nonwovens and related industries in ‘attendance,’ Outlook 2020 again confirmed the event as a key industry occasion for the sector, showcasing EDANA’s mission to support the growth and promote the sustainable development of the industry.

Held from September 23-25, Outlook moved to an online edition for the first time, allowing participants to engage virtually, through conference presentations, live Q&A and live interaction via Whova. The conference examined emerging global drivers, market trends, sustainability initiatives and new product developments over three days. With the conference attracting participants from across the whole supply chain and around the globe, Outlook confirmed its position as a unique must-attend event for nonwoven professionals.

“It is a brave new step we took with this edition and I’m pleased with and proud of the successful collaborative event we witnessed,” says Mikael Staal Axelsen, CEO of Fibertex and chair of the EDANA board. “Engagement and participation in an online environment is never a given and I think it’s a credit to the team and the strong topical program that we had such a large active audience.”

The 19th edition of Outlook opened with a keynote speech on ‘Geopolitical scenarios shaping a post-COVID19 world’ from Jeffrey Saunders and Job Henning of Nordic Foresight. A session dedicated to global perspectives followed with overviews of regional market drivers and trade flows. The day closed with a presentation of an upcoming EDANA communications campaign on the benefit of nonwoven materials. Day 2 of the conference opened with an insightful presentation from Per Brandberg of Euromonitor on the global outlook for the disposable hygiene sector. The rest of the second day focused on an examination of the challenges and opportunities of sustainability and supply in the hygiene sector with reference to PPE and face masks. The final day focused on innovation and sustainability in the sector, opening with a ‘realistic review of post-Covid energy and environmental plans and expectations’ by Samuel Furfari, professor in Energy Geopolitics of the Free University of Brussels.

“We have had to adapt the format of our conference format to ensure we still meet the content needs of delegates,” says Pierre Wiertz, general manager of EDANA. “And we just concluded the first ever online Outlook with the conviction that this change of format, forced by circumstances, keeps the original spirit of our Outlook conferences concept for the personal care nonwovens supply chain. I was very enthused by the engagement of delegates in this new format and the insight of significant industry players on key trends and some very exciting technical innovations in our sector.”

The next edition of Outlook is scheduled to be held in Lisbon in April 2021.

Stewardship Program Update
At Outlook, Marines Lagemaat, scientific and technical affairs director at EDANA, and Anna Brodowsky, vice president public affairs at Essity Hygiene & Health spoke about de-mystifying the debate about trace chemicals, and on how EDANA’s stewardship program allows stakeholders to find a common way forward and provides guidance to the suppliers along the supply chain. They also made a quick review of the test approach and talked about EU regulatory aspects.

According to Lagemaat, various reports from competent authorities and media articles have highlighted the presence of chemicals at trace levels in different AHPs. These are at extremely low levels that pose no risk to health. While all recent studies have concluded that the products are safe to use, there is a debate around the presence of traces of chemicals in AHPs. And as responsible producers, EDANA members want to inform that debate.

With the Stewardship Programme, EDANA’s members are demonstrating their commitment to ensuring that their products are safe. Under the programme, open to all producers, participants commit to go beyond existing product legislation to give consumers maximum confidence in the safe use of these products.

With the publishing of product composition and a commitment to enhance consumer understanding, the program also serves to reinforce transparency, enabling consumers to make informed choices.

“Put simply, signatories to the program undertake to monitor the presence of a defined list of trace chemicals in AHPs and take action to ensure that they do not exceed agreed limits. These limits are lower than those required by existing EU and national legislation,” he says, adding that the program consists of three core elements:

• A List of Trace Chemicals: substances potentially present at a trace level including PAHs, DLPCBs, dioxins, furans, phthalates and formaldehyde.
• Guidance Values:  levels which the listed trace impurities should not exceed
• Standardized Test Methods: harmonized laboratory procedures to test for the presence of  impurities and assess levels

The Stewardship Programme is part of an ongoing process by EDANA’s members to ensure the maximum level of safety and understanding of their products, including longstanding industry-led research and dialogue across the supply chain.

EDANA’s AHP-producing members pledge to take action to ensure a continuous and thorough implementation of the principles laid out in the program, providing the most up-to-date information and answers to stakeholders.

The level of trace chemicals has decreased over the course of ti as a result of ongoing efforts of the industry and the program will build on these efforts.

The aim of the program is to track, monitor and control the trace chemicals present at trace levels. Indeed, various reports have concluded that while chemicals are present at trace levels, they do not pose any threats for consumers’ health and they never have.

The program will create an industry-wide list of chemicals, including chemicals such as PAHs, DL-PCBs, dioxins, furans, phthalates and formaldehyde.

These 80 chemicals relevant were selected based on a literature review of studies of chemical impurities found in AHPs, known auxiliary materials, lists found in other regulations and standards that govern other consumer products such as toys and textiles and other third-party lists, such as those developed by various NGOs.

EDANA’s members make up over 85% of AHP products sold in the European market. Its members include the leading consumer brands in these categories as well as own-label competitors supplied to many of Europe’s largest retailers. As such, it is probable that, if a consumer buys a tampon or diaper, it most likely comes from one of our members.



EDANA Outlines Response to Covid-19
Last month, during the online version of Outlook 20, a whole session was dedicated on the nonwovens industry response to the pandemic. Jacques Prigneaux, market analysis & economic affairs director at EDANA, reflects on what has been done by the association, its members and the industry.

When did EDANA first become aware that Covid-19 might become a problem and what was your initial response?
Being understandably ‘close to the coalface’ on this topic we were engaged very early on, actively tracking supply chain issues and the challenges for authorities since March. EDANA was drawn into an instantaneous role as an advisor and facilitator to a wide range of public and private-sector players. Early in the pandemic, government and European Union officials who previously knew little about facemasks and nothing at all about the nonwoven fabrics that go into them needed to get up to speed overnight.

EDANA was proactive in flagging the issues, writing to the European Commission, requesting its support in working with Member States to ensure that all production facilities where these products are manufactured are kept fully operational in the interest of public health. EDANA has been recognized by the European Commission as the voice of industry on all issues relevant to the nonwoven-based face masks supply chain.
Over the last five months, EDANA has also been liaising with partner associations including MedTech Europe, ESF, and EURATEX to ensure sufficient supplies of essential public health equipment.

EDANA was also busy from the off working to see how supply could match up with demand. One of its first steps was to conduct a survey, subsequently updated, of meltblown lines with appropriate charging equipment, and meltblown manufacturers who might be able to adapt their machines to make the facemask grade, as well as surveying facemask operations requiring meltblown.

In retrospect, how well prepared would you say the authorities were for the spike in demand for facemasks and PPE?
It’s a tough question, the situation surprised us all. This is an industry used to long-term, reasonably stable demand and established supply lines. Authorities understandably did not have need to pay attention to many of the specifics. What impressed me was the speed in reacting to such an unforeseeable development by both industry and the authorities. The rapid reaction by a number of producers in adapting lines and prioritizing mask production has been impressive. In mid-April if you were looking for meltblown I would have said you won’t get any before the third quarter or even the fourth quarter. However, now all kinds of people are adding capacity.

What subsequent actions have been put in place specifically by nonwovens manufacturers?
EU production of face masks, essential for tackling the coronavirus crisis, is set to increase 20-fold by November this year compared to pre-crisis times. This means that EU-based producers will be able to make the equivalent of 1.5 billion three-layer masks a month. These figures show how EDANA’s members in the nonwovens sector have responded in record time to the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic and the call by EU and national authorities to ramp up production of face masks to protect public health.

To meet the ongoing challenges EDANA and our members convened a new sector group representing face mask converters, nonwoven suppliers, testing laboratories and equipment manufacturers to work together to develop an independent and self-sufficient supply chain for medical face masks and personal protective masks in the EU. The group works to ensure adherence to applicable European Standards and to encourage responsible product stewardship throughout the life cycle of face-masks from raw material sourcing to end-of-life solutions.

What lessons will be learned for the future and how will Covid-19 influence the industry’s drive to develop more sustainable products and processes?
In short, evaluation and preparation. It was notoriously difficult to estimate the quantities needed but this has improved. Local production has also been prioritised. The Commission took steps to ensure that nonwovens plants were considered to be essential services. It also set up the Emergency Support Instrument, with a budget of €2.7 billion, to make expenditures to fight COVID-19. It immediately set aside €100 million to buy “healthcare related material.” The Commission also established the strategic rescEU medical stockpile along with a related distribution system, with upto €380 million available for purchase of medical supplies. The stockpile includes ventilators, PPEs, medicines and laboratory supplies.

Product innovation will be important in meeting future challenges and we know many of our members are investigating alternates to meltblown.