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Confitex Technology wins INDEX Award and Hygienix Innovation Award for world-first washable nonwoven absorbent hygiene products
Confitex Technology has cracked a challenge the global hygiene industry said couldn’t be done – creating sanitary pads that look, feel and perform like disposables, but can be washed and reused. Two international awards in six months say they’re onto something.
Confitex Technology won the global nonwoven industry’s highest honour, an INDEX Award, at the INDEX26 expo in Geneva in May – for proving that the materials used in single-use absorbent hygiene products (AHPs) can be stabilised so they survive the washing machine and dryer.
It’s Confitex Technology’s second major international award in six months for the same breakthrough technology – hot on the heels of winning the 2025 Hygienix Innovation Award in the US last November. No other company has ever won both awards, let alone within six months of one another.
Every year, billions of single-use personal hygiene products – things like pads, liners, incontinence guards and bed pads – are used once and thrown away, making up about ten percent of global landfill. The nonwoven materials they’re made from have never been washable – until now.
Confitex Technology Founder and CEO Frantisek Riha-Scott says the implications are huge. “What Confitex Technology has done is unlock an entirely new product category – washable, reusable absorbent hygiene products that perform as well as, or better than, disposables, at a price point that works for mainstream consumers and mass-market retailers.” He emphasises that this is not a niche sustainability proposition. “It’s the beginning of a consumer category shift comparable to the move from single-use plastic bags to reusables.”
Why the time is right
Confitex Technology Executive Director Lisa Voyle says washable nonwoven pads and liners are ideally placed to meet growing demand for reusable sanitary products, particularly within the EU, where incoming environmental mandates are driving change.
The French government recently announced subsidies for reusable period products at population scale, and the EU’s incoming Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations will load new costs onto single-use hygiene manufacturers. Investors and retailers are actively looking to futureproof their portfolios with reusable alternatives to plastic-based single-use AHPs, which have been identified as a major source of environmental pollution in the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive.
The INDEX Award jury – a panel of global industry experts convened by Brussels-based industry body EDANA – highlighted the huge market opportunity in their comments about Confitex Technology’s winning innovation: “By making absorbent nonwovens fully laundry-compatible, the technology enables nonwoven suppliers to enter the rapidly growing reusable market, historically dominated by textile products. At the same time, the product delivers improved absorbency, leak protection and ease of care for users, while supporting sustainability goals through reusability and the use of predominantly natural-based fibres.”
Confitex Technology’s Lisa Voyle says the potential environmental impact of transitioning even a fraction of single-use AHPs to Confitex Technology washable nonwoven alternatives is enormous. “Reusable products currently make up less than 15 percent of the global AHP market, largely because of historical performance, accessibility and pricing constraints. We are partnering with global retailers and leading FMCG players in personal hygiene to build the category for mainstream adoption.”
She says the shift from single-use plastic bags to reusable ones didn’t happen because consumers decided they suddenly cared more about the environment. It happened because the reusable alternative became more convenient, affordable and normal, and because regulation fast-tracked the change. She believes reusable pads, liners and other hygiene products are following the same arc – and Confitex Technology is at the cutting edge of that transition.
The science that makes single-use reusable
Nonwoven materials – the engineered fabrics used in everything from surgical gowns to nappies – have traditionally been designed to be used once then discarded. The bonded fibres that make them soft and comfortable fall apart in water. Frantisek Riha-Scott and his innovation team at Confitex Technology have spent years creating the revolutionary technology needed to solve the problem.
“The nonwoven materials that are used to make single-use pads, liners, shields, guards and bed pads were previously not thought to be washable,” he says. “Now we have figured out how to stabilise them so they can be machine washed, tumble dried and reused over and over again, we have the potential to make a huge dent on global waste. Importantly, we can create our reusable sanitary pads cost-effectively at scale without compromising on performance.”
Confitex Technology’s award-winning machine-washable and dryer-safe reusable pads are up to 90 percent bio-based and contain none of the petroleum-based superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) that are a staple of disposables. Yet independent laboratory testing confirms that they offer better working absorbency and leakproofing than equivalent single-use products.
The Confitex Technology story – hiding in plain sight
Confitex Technology first attracted international attention in 2015, when its runway show at New Zealand Fashion Week was lauded by international media as the world’s first range of fashion-forward incontinence underwear.
Since then, Confitex Technology has flown under the radar of mainstream attention while building the IP and manufacturing infrastructure needed to produce reusable period and incontinence products at scale at its automated facilities in Asia and Europe. Today, Confitex Technology manufactures high-performance textile-based period underwear and incontinence underwear, and nonwoven-based reusable period pads and liners, reusable incontinence pads and liners, reusable incontinence shields and guards, and reusable bed pads, underpads, chair pads, car seat covers, baby changing mats and mattress protectors for some of the world’s biggest private-label retailers, brands and distributors.
Confitex Technology’s industry-disruptive innovations are protected by more than 60 granted patents across key global markets. “We’ve spent years proving that our technology works and building a supply chain to deliver it at scale,” says Confitex Technology Founder and CEO Frantisek Riha-Scott. “These awards are validation that we’ve got it right. Now we want people to know about it.”
About the awards
Presented only once every three years, the INDEX Awards are administered by Brussels-based nonwovens industry body EDANA and widely considered the industry’s highest accolade. Five category winners were announced at the INDEX26 expo in Geneva in May, with Confitex Technology’s washable nonwoven bed pads taking top honours in the Durable Applications category. Other nominees included DuPont, Bostik and fellow New Zealand innovation company Woolchemy.
Just one Hygienix Innovation Award is presented annually by US-based industry body INDA to honour a breakthrough technology advancing the absorbent hygiene industry. In 2025 Confitex Technology took the honour with its washable nonwoven reusable period pads.
Winning both awards within a six-month period cements Confitex Technology’s reputation as the global technology leader in reusable absorbent personal hygiene products.
About the market
The global absorbent hygiene products (AHPs) market was valued at about USD 123.5 billion in 2025, and is growing at a CAGR of 3.9%, partly driven by demand for adult incontinence products as global populations age. Reusable products currently make up less than 15 percent or USD 20 billion of that, but are growing at a much higher CAGR of 6.89%.
AHPs are estimated to contribute billions of units of non-biodegradable landfill waste annually, with almost all single-use period pads and liners, incontinence pads and shields, adult incontinence briefs and nappies incorporating petroleum-derived SAPs, plastic-based nonwoven layers and synthetic adhesives that resist decomposition for centuries. Regulatory pressure, consumer environmental consciousness and growing ESG reporting requirements on hygiene manufacturers are creating strong demand for sustainable product innovation across all AHP categories.
About Confitex Technology
Confitex Technology is a New Zealand-based manufacturer of washable absorbent hygiene products including reusable period pads and liners, incontinence products, maternity products, pet products, baby products and bed pads. The company manufactures on behalf of private-label retailers, brands and distributors worldwide from automated facilities in Asia and Europe. Confitex Technology’s innovations are protected by more than 60 granted patents and its manufacturing operations hold ISO 13485, CE Mark and FDA MDSAP certifications. confitextechnology.com
About washable nonwovens
Confitex Technology’s award-winning washable nonwoven absorbent hygiene products (AHPs) herald the creation of an entirely new product category.
- Mimics the familiar look and feel of single-use pads
- Independently lab-tested absorbency matches or exceeds single-use equivalents
- Lasts at least 30 washes without deterioration in performance
- Machine washable and tumble dryer-safe
- Soft and comfortable
- Fully customisable absorbency, shape, size, materials and print
- Organic, recycled and biodegradable materials available
- Patented leakproof frame technology locks in leaks
- Verified free of PFAS, SAPs and disperse dyes
For more about Confitex Technology’s world-first washable nonwovens watch the video
Find out more about Confitex Technology at confitextechnology.com or our innovation page
For high-resolution images or an interview with Confitex Technology Executive Director Lisa Voyle or Confitex Technology Founder and CEO Frantisek Riha-Scott, please email info@confitex.com
