CARY, NC — October 15, 2007 — Six consumer products – five from the United States and one from India – have been nominated as finalists for the prestigious 2008 Visionary Award.

Now in its seventh year, the Award – which is given annually to a new consumer product that utilizes nonwoven fabrics in its final form – will be presented at the VISION 2008 Consumer Products Conference, February 11-14, 2008, in Fort Worth, Texas. The finalists will make presentations during VISION 2008 and conference attendees will vote on the recipient of the 2008 Visionary Award.

“The Visionary Awards finalists have been selected from more than two dozen nominations from around the world and they represent the most significant advances in incorporating nonwovens technology into consumer products,” says Visionary Award Coordinator Michael Jacobsen, of INDA. “The six products are being recognized not only for their technical attributes, but for their novel use of nonwoven fabrics as well.”

The six finalists are:

1. Curity Brand Nursing Pad, Covidien
Covidien (formerly Tyco Healthcare Retail Group) redesigned its nursing pad into a three-dimensional lemon shape that provides a more discreet fit. It has a thinner fluff pulp/SAP core for improved dryness and comfort as well as a tissue layer on the top and bottom to better contain the core. It also utilizes a softer nonwoven for against-the-body comfort and a pastel pink poly laminate for discretion and to help minimize see through. 

2. Do-Rite Disposable Dog Diapers, Do-Rites
Do-Rites are nonwoven disposable diaper/garments that are fashionable and also provide the protection of a disposable diaper, without looking like one. The design contains adjustable nonwoven straps that “keep the diaper on the dog and the dog in the diaper.” Also, the nonwoven tail panel has been engineered to prevent the escape of solid and liquid waste.

3. PowerTex Glass Cleaner, Ecolab
With applications in both consumer and institutional products, this system offers an environmentally responsible spray bottle cleaning system that uses a chemically impregnated nonwoven “sleeve,” a trigger sprayer with a specially designed dip tube system and a bottle. The user fills the bottle with water, inserts the sprayer with the sleeve attached and shakes to create a new bottle of glass cleaner. The bottle and sprayer system may be reused many times.

4. SpaSensials, Kimberly-Clark
Targeted at women 40-plus, SpaSensials are an at-home spa-like treatment consisting of intensive moisturizing and conditioning socks and gloves. Advanced technology helps the intensive conditioning formula in SpaSensials products to quickly and effectively absorb into the skin. The nonwoven material keeps moisturizers on the inside, next to the skin.

5. OMop Dry Sweeper Cloths, Method Products
The OMop Dry Sweeper Cloths are disposable dry sweeper cloths made from 100% PLA (Poly-Lactic Acid), a plastic derived from corn, and are designed to be used on a custom sweeping tool. Since the base sheet is 100% corn-derived it is annually renewable and compostable, the first of its kind.

6. Consumer Shopping Bags, Reliance Industries (India)
Taking advantage of an eco-friendly trend in many parts of the world, these reusable shopping bags are made of reverse printed and laminated BOPP film on a polypropylene nonwoven and are designed to replace conventional paper bags and cotton cloth bags in the grocery and retail market.

Last January at VISION 2007 in Denver, Tyco Healthcare Retail Group was presented with the 2007 Visionary Award for its Swim Pants. As has become a tradition at the VISION Conferences, Tyco, now known as Covidien, will make a presentation at VISION 2008 to provide an update on the winning product.
 
Other previous winners include Chicopee’s Disaster Relief Blanket (2006); Fiberweb’s Resolution Print Media (2005); Church & Dwight’s Brillo Scrub ‘n’ Toss (2004); FMJ ChemBio’s Civilian Quick Escape Mask (2003); and Procter & Gamble's Swiffer (2002).

For more information on VISION 2008: www.inda.org