Incontinence materials today are mainly disposable products, which has a large impact on waste. Hundreds of thousands of disposable pads and bedpans are thrown away every day after one-time use. However, more sustainable and even reusable alternatives are possible.
Entusia, a company that specialises in comfortable and stylish reusable incontinence materials, wants to work on more sustainable and ecological alternatives through this project. We want to further expand our product range for people with moderate urine loss with two new products: reusable incontinence pads and underwear, and reusable bed underpads. In this way, we want to make our contribution to reducing the amount of incontinence waste.
Specifically, we researched new materials, better anti-bacterial treatments and higher absorbency to extend the life of our new products. These new materials were incorporated into test products by various manufacturers, so that they could be evaluated and adapted where necessary.
EntusiaEntusia
Partners Zorgbedrijf Antwerpen, Universiteit Gent
Sectors
Themes
Organisations
Thanks to our research, we were able to gather a lot of useful information about the market. The end users and residential care homes are certainly open to sustainable alternatives. We were able to show them that our products not only respect the dignity and encourage the autonomy of the end users, but also provide an ecological and economic advantage, both in terms of purchase and waste disposal.
The demand for additional products, for example with even higher absorbency, bed bases with handles to be used as sliding sheets, underwear for children with urine leakage, etc., shows that there is great interest in these products.
We will also continue to work on making our products even more sustainable. Next year, for example, we want to conduct research into a sustainable alternative for the cotton in our underwear.