An absorbent article with a fastening system with reduced waste and method of manufacturing such an absorbent article is disclosed. The method of manufacturing an absorbent article can include cutting a first web of ear tab material to provide a first ear tab that is registered and cutting a second web of ear tab material to provide a second ear tab that is registered. The method can also include providing a web of ear panel material, coupling the first and second ear tabs to the web of ear panel material, cutting the web of ear panel material to provide first and second ear panels to form first and second ears, and coupling the first and second ears to the absorbent assembly to form at least a portion of the fastening system for the absorbent article. The first and second ears can be configured to be different from one another.

A biodegradable, disposable absorbent article, such as a diaper, having a non-woven inner layer of natural fibers and a non-woven outer layer of natural fibers and a treatment applied to at least one surface thereof. The treatment includes at least one compound selected from the group consisting of waxes, urethanes, silicones, fluorocarbons, and non-fluorochemical repellents. The absorbent article has a core of natural fibers or fibrous material, and optionally polyacrylate superabsorbent particles, positioned between the inner layer and the outer layer. The article may contain polylactic acid films between the layers.

An absorbent article includes front and rear portions and a fastener for connecting side edges of the front and rear portions. The fastener includes a grasping element attached to an outer surface of the fastener to provide for grasping by the wearer or caregiver. The grasping element may be formed of flexible material and may have a variety of configurations, including a tube, a flange, a tunnel or a pocket.

Disclosed are natural baby products and related methods of use. Disposable baby hygiene products, particularly disposable baby hygiene products made with natural, sustainable, environmentally-responsible, and/or biodegradable materials include disposable baby diapers made with bamboo and other natural, sustainable, environmentally-responsible, and/or biodegradable materials and disposable baby swim diapers made with natural, sustainable, environmentally-responsible, and/or biodegradable materials.

An absorbent article is disclosed. The article includes a first portion having at least two target strips located on opposite ends of the first portion, at least one visual sizing indicator positioned on the first portion of the article between the at least two target strips, the visual sizing indicator including indicia for indicating that the article is too large for a wearer, a middle portion contoured inwards such that an hourglass shape is formed, and a second portion having at least two fasteners located on opposite edges of the second portion. The absorbent article is formed of several layers including a moisture-impervious outer layer, an inner layer substantially co-extensive with the outer layer, and a filler interposed between the inner layer and the outer layer.

A disposable absorbent article is disclosed that includes a first waist region, a second waist region, a crotch region disposed between the first waist region and second waist region, a waist edge in the first waist region, at least one waistband in the first waist region adjacent the waist edge, at least one fastener in the second waist region, and a waist assembly in the first waist region, wherein the waist assembly has a Corrugation Regularity greater than about 75%.

This disclosure includes embodiments of disposable absorbent articles and methods of making disposable absorbent articles that include closures with a web of material and hook fasteners that are unitary with the web. For example, some of the present disposable absorbent articles include diapers or briefs with closure members, such as back ears or front ears, defined at least in part by a nonwoven web with hook fasteners that are unitary with the nonwoven web. Use of such unitary hook fasteners allows simpler construction of such articles and/or softer closure members for improved fit and user comfort, and/or other benefits. Certain embodiments of the present methods can manufacture such absorbent articles with fewer manufacturing steps or processes and/or fewer raw materials, relative to those required to manufacture prior art absorbent articles with hook fastener patches that are added by application of a separate piece of material that includes the hook fasteners.

A fixing member including a sheet-like base member 21 and a surface fastener 30 provided on the base member 21 is disclosed. The surface fastener 30 covers a surface of the base member 21 at a position separated from a tip end 21E1 of the base member 21 in a wrap-around direction, and minimum bending stiffness of the fixing member 20 as determined via a bending test using a Gurley tester being 150 mgf or less when measured using a test piece cut from a portion where the surface fastener 30 is provided. The surface S1 on the surface fastener 30 side of the portion 21a on the tip end 21E1 side of the surface fastener 30 of the base member 21 is a surface with reduced engagement with the surface fastener 30.

A wearable article includes hook-and-loop fastening components. The hook-and-loop fastening components have a section of nonwoven web material on which an array of hooks is formed. At least some of the hooks may be integrally formed from the nonwoven material. The section of nonwoven web material may also include a section of loops material, wherein at least some of the loops may be integrally formed from the web material. The section of loops material may have a machine direction dimension of at least 20 mm and a cross direction dimension of at least 20 mm, and a surface area of at least 314 mm.sup.2. The article may further include an identifiable linear path, the identifiable linear path having a width greater than 2 mm and forming an angle with the machine direction of 45 degrees or less. Any such identifiable path at least partially overlies the loops-forming bond(s), at a plurality of locations along the identifiable linear path.

An absorbent article (10) can include a fastening system including a primary fastening system (82) and a secondary fastening system (84). The primary fastening system (82) can include at least one primary first fastening component (86) and at least one primary second fastening component (88). The secondary fastening system (84) can include a first secondary first fastening component (96) and at least one secondary second fastening component (98). The absorbent article (10) can also include a pocket (64) disposed in the front waist region (12) such that at least one primary first fastening component (86) is configured to engage the pocket (64) when engaging the at least one primary second fastening component (88) in the fastened condition of the absorbent article (10) and the first secondary first fastening component (96) can engage the at least one secondary second fastening component (98) in the fastened condition.