Content
The product is made from
Virgin pulp
Recycled fibers
Chemicals
The packaging material is made from paper or plastic.
Material
Virgin fibers and recovered paper
In the tissue process both virgin fibers and recovered paper are being used. The choice of pulp is made based on product requirements and pulp availability so the pulp is used in the most efficient way.
The environmental benefits and economic feasibility of recovered paper as a raw material source depend on its availability, transport distance and the quality of the collected material.
Recycling of paper is an efficient use of resources as the wood fibers are used more than once.
High demands are put on quality and purity of recovered fibers, considering each step of the chain (collection, sorting, transportation, storage, use), to ensure safe and hygienic products.
Recovered paper can be produced both from collected newsprint, magazines and office waste. The choice of recovered paper grades, is made for each product, depending on its specific requirements on performance properties and brightness. The paper is dissolved in water, washed and treated with chemicals under high temperature and screened to separate out impurities.
Virgin pulp fibers are produced out of softwood or hardwood. The wood is subject to chemical and/or mechanical processes wehre the cellulose fibers are separated out and lignin and other residuals are removed.
Bleaching is a cleaning process of the fibers and the aim is to achieve a bright pulp, but also to get a certain purity of the fiber in order to achieve the demands for hygiene products and in some cases to meet the requirements for food safety.
There are different methods used today for bleaching: ECF (elementary chlorine free, where chlorine dioxide is used, and TCF (totally chlorine free) where ozone, oxygen and hydrogen peroxide is used.
Bleaching of the recovered pulp is made with chlorine-free bleaching agents (hydrogene peroxide and sodium dithionite).
Chemicals
All chemicals (process aids as well as additives) are assessed from an environmental, occupational health and safety and product safety point of view.
To control product performance we use additives:
- Wet strength agents (for Wipers and Hand Towels)
- Dry strength agents (is used together with mechanical treatment of the pulp to make strong products like wipers)
- For colored papers dyes and fixatives (to secure perfect fastness of the color) are added
- For printed products printing inks (pigments with carriers and fixatives) are applied
- For multi ply products we often use a water soluble glue to secure the integrity of the product
In most of our mills we do not add optical brighteners but it often occurs in recovered paper since it is used in printing paper.
We do not use softeners for professional hygiene products.
High product quality is secured through quality and hygiene management systems throughout production, storage and transport.
In order to maintain a stable process and product quality the paper manufacturing process is supported by the following chemicals/ process aids:
- defoamers (surfactants and dispersing agents)
- pH-control (sodium hydroxide and sulphuric acid)
- retention aids (chemicals that help to agglomerate small fibers to prevent fiber loss)
- Coating chemicals (that help to control the creping of the paper to make it soft and absorbent)
To reuse broke and to utilize recovered fibers we use:
- Pulping aid (chemicals that help to repulp wet strong paper)
- Flocculation chemicals (that help to clean out printing inks and fillers from recovered paper)
- Bleaching agents (to increase the brightness of pulp from recovered paper)
In the cleaning of our waste water we use flocculation agents and nutritients for the biological treatment to secure that no negative impact on water quality comes from our mills.
Food Contact
This product fulfills the legislative requirements for Food Contact materials, confirmed by external certification performed by a third party. The product is safe for wiping food contact surfaces and may also come occasionally into contact with foodstuffs for a short period of time.
Environmental labels
This product is not approved for the EU Ecolabel.
Packaging
Fulfilment of Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (94/62/EC): Yes
Article creation date and latest article revision
Date of issue: 2019-02-27
Revision date: 2019-06-11
Production
This product is produced at SOVETSK mill, RU and certified according to FSC Chain-Of-Custody, ISO 14001 (Environmental management systems), ISO 9001, and OHSAS 18001.
Destruction
This product is mainly used for personal hygiene and can be collected together with household waste.
Essity Hygiene and Health AB, 405 03 GÖTEBORG, Sweden
