Incontinence pants are increasingly prevalent in the absorbent hygiene market. Their closed design offers consumers a more “underwear” look and feel than traditional open briefs.
Unlike open briefs, however, these pants lack the adhesive side tabs that can be used to wrap a soiled product into a tight ball for hygienic disposal.
Both at home and out of the house, there is a need for hygienic and discreet disposal of a used incontinence pant. More and more brands are promoting this type of incontinence product, and want to make it look and feel as similar to regular underwear as possible. That means, among other things, a bigger focus on softness and elasticity (comfort). They aim to get the taboo off incontinence, especially for younger and more mobile people. This way, adults facing incontinence will still be able to go out more without feeling embarrassed or fear that their incontinence pant is visible through their clothes.
Side tabs in open briefs are also used for disposal: after use, the brief is typically wrapped into a tight package, and reclosed by using the side tabs. This allows for disposal in a hygienic way. Avery Dennison has developed a line of Z-fold tapes as an aid to reclose and wrap a used pant for hygienic disposal as well. These disposal tapes for incontinence pants are pressure-sensitive-adhesive based tapes in a Z-shape, hence the name.