Sanitary Tissue Product Packages Conveying Sustainability

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/209,508, filed on Jun. 14, 2023, which claims the benefit, under 35 USC § 119(e), of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/353,167, filed Jun. 17, 2022; U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/353,183, filed Jun. 17, 2022; U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/375,858, filed Sep. 16, 2022; U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/456,020, filed Mar. 31, 2023; and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/472,379, filed Jun. 12, 2023, the entire disclosures of which are fully incorporated by reference herein.

The present disclosure relates to sanitary tissue products and arrays comprising non-wood fibers.

Fibrous structures, including sanitary tissue products (e.g., paper towels, toilet tissue, facial tissue, disposable shop towels, wipes, etc.) are commonly packaged and marketed as an array of separate packages, where certain properties and/or compositions of the sanitary tissue products differ within the packages. For instance, it is currently known to be desirable to offer a first package as “strong” toilet tissue and a second package as “soft” toilet tissue. As will be described in greater detail below, the inventors of the present disclosure have made a number of improvements to the current offerings of a packaged non-wood sanitary tissue products, as well as improvements to the offering of arrays comprising sanitary tissue products comprising non-woods. As detailed herein, even though non-wood products have been previously disclosed in patent publications, as well as being marketed, there are a number of important areas that have not been regarded and there are several unmet needs.

Packages of the present disclosure may use traditional ways to convey its contents (e.g., a performance claim using words like: “our softest ever”), but may also use new ways of conveying sustainable characteristics of the sanitary tissue product, as well as the way it may have been manufactured, and/or as well as the package materials themselves. Conveying “sustainability” is a challenge, especially when the sustainable product is a premium product since so many users associate being more sustainable with giving something up performance-wise and/or cost-wise.

Sanitary tissue products of the present disclosure often outperform other sustainable offerings—see, for example,, which illustrate that sanitary tissue products of the present disclosure, which comprise relevant amounts of non-wood fibers, and have superior performance in a number of key parameters versus currently and previously marketed sanitary tissue products comprising non-wood fibers. So, there is a real challenge to communicate this premium performance and convey sustainability at the same time. Premiumness is normally conveyed with high-end packaging, where the package is part of the user experience and a material part of the offering. Premium packages can be viewed as wasteful, overly indulgent, and over-designed and often use materials that are not environmentally friendly. This is in great contrast to sustainable packaging, which is often sparse, minimalistic, or bare. Sustainable packing is normally meant to convey that the packaging was sustainably sourced and can be composted or readily recycled. Sustainable packaging often looks as if it was made from recycled materials; it is often brown or other natural colors. The inventors of the present disclosure attempt to strike a balance between premium package features and sustainable ones. For instance, one approach herein is to use a naturally colored cardboard box for the exterior, but to color the inside of the box white, which looks more pristine and which conveys premiumness. This contrast, with the interior being a color other than brown, gives the user a signal that the sanitary tissue product is more than an ordinary roll of sustainable paper and that it may have premium characteristics such as premium softness, absorption, and/or strength. Another way to communicate sustainability is to place rolls of the sanitary tissue products naked into an unlined box in layers, such that the layers sit next to and on each other without a liner in-between. Such a box of multiple naked rolls in layers, each layer comprising 4, 6, 8, etc. rolls, for 2, 3, 4, etc. layers can give the impression of a bulk unit of rolls, which is a more sustainable way to buy goods.

Another challenge for sustainable packages is conveying, without relying solely on words, that the sanitary tissue product is sustainable. It can be viewed as cliché to place images of bamboo stalks and leaves on the front face of the package. Even when such imagery is used, what does it mean; that the sanitary tissue product comprises bamboo or that the package does or that it is a general indication of the sustainable practices used to make the product. The inventors of the present disclosure have addressed these issues, including using leaf, branch, stalk, etc. imagery to overlap imagery of the toilet tissue, facial tissue, or paper towels to communicate that the sanitary tissue product is made from such materials. The inventors of the present disclosure have also found that sustainable graphics on the package that match an emboss of the paper on the roll may be used to communicate premiumness.

Other approaches and embodiments that balance the conveyance of sustainability and premiumness are disclosed in greater detail in the specification below.

Each of the tables and figures from U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 63/456,020, titled “Fibrous Structures Comprising Non-wood Fibers,” and filed on Mar. 31, 2023, each of the tables and figures from Ser. No. 63/375,858, titled “Sanitary Tissue Products and Arrays Comprising Non-wood Fibers,” and filed on Sep. 16, 2022, and each of the tables and figures from Ser. No. 63/472,379, titled “Sanitary Tissue Products and Arrays Comprising Non-wood Fibers,” and filed on Jun. 12, 2023 are incorporated herein, in their entirety, by reference.

Inventive sanitary tissue product embodiments illustrated in the figures above, specifically including the inventive sanitary tissue products illustrated in, may be, but are not required to be, used in the inventive arrays of the present disclosure.

The following term explanations may be useful in understanding the present disclosure:

“Fiber” as used herein means an elongate particulate having an apparent length greatly exceeding its apparent diameter, i.e., a length to diameter ratio of at least about 10. Fibers having a non-circular cross-section are common; the “diameter” in this case may be considered to be the diameter of a circle having cross-sectional area equal to the cross-sectional area of the fiber. More specifically, as used herein, “fiber” refers to fibrous structure-making fibers. The present disclosure contemplates the use of a variety of fibrous structure-making fibers, such as, for example, natural fibers, including wood fibers, or synthetic fibers made from natural polymers and/or synthetic fibers, or any other suitable fibers, and any combination thereof.

“Fibrous structure” as used herein means a structure (web) that comprises one or more fibers. Non-limiting examples of processes for making fibrous structures include known wet-laid fibrous structure making processes, air-laid fibrous structure making processes, meltblowing fibrous structure making processes, co-forming fibrous structure making processes, and spunbond fibrous structure making processes. Such processes typically include steps of preparing a fiber composition, oftentimes referred to as a fiber slurry in wet-laid processes, either wet or dry, and then depositing a plurality of fibers onto a forming wire or belt such that an embryonic fibrous structure is formed, drying and/or bonding the fibers together such that a fibrous structure is formed, and/or further processing the fibrous structure such that a finished fibrous structure is formed. The fibrous structure may be a through-air-dried fibrous structure and/or conventionally dried fibrous structure. The fibrous structure may be creped or uncreped. The fibrous structure may exhibit differential density regions or may be substantially uniform in density. The fibrous structure may be pattern densified, conventionally felt-pressed and/or high-bulk, uncompacted. The fibrous structures may be homogenous or multilayered in construction.

After and/or concurrently with the forming of the fibrous structure, the fibrous structure may be subjected to physical transformation operations such as embossing, calendaring, selfing, printing, folding, softening, ring-rolling, applying additives, such as latex, lotion and softening agents, combining with one or more other plies of fibrous structures, and the like to produce a finished fibrous structure that forms and/or is incorporated into a sanitary tissue product.

“Non-wood fiber(s)” or “non-wood content” means naturally-occurring fibers derived from non-wood plants, including mineral fibers, plant fibers and mixtures thereof, and specifically excluding non-naturally-occurring fibers (e.g., synthetic fibers). Animal fibers may, for example, be selected from the group consisting of: wool, silk and other naturally-occurring protein fibers and mixtures thereof. The plant fibers may, for example, be obtained directly from a plant. Nonlimiting examples of suitable plants include cotton, cotton linters, flax, sisal, abaca, hemp, Hesper aloe, jute, bamboo, bagasse, kudzu, corn, sorghum, gourd, agave, loofah, trichomes, seed-hairs, wheat, and mixtures thereof.

Further, non-wood fibers of the present disclosure may be derived from one or more non-wood plants of the family Asparagaceae. Suitable non-wood plants may include, but are limited to, one or more plants of the genus Agave such asand, and one or more plants of the genus Hesperaloe such as, and. Further, the non-wood fibers of the present disclosure may be prepared from one or more plants of the of the genus Hesperaloe such as, and

“Wood fiber(s)” or “wood content” means fibers derived from both deciduous trees (hereinafter, also referred to as “hardwood”) and coniferous trees (hereinafter, also referred to as “softwood”) may be utilized. Wood fibers may be short (typical of hardwood fibers) or long (typical of softwood fibers). Nonlimiting examples of short fibers include fibers derived from a fiber source selected from the group consisting of, Maple, Oak, Aspen, Birch, Cottonwood, Alder, Ash, Cherry, Elm, Hickory, Poplar, Gum, Walnut, Locust, Sycamore, Beech,, and. Nonlimiting examples of long fibers include fibers derived from Pine, Spruce, Fir, Tamarack, Hemlock, Cypress, and Cedar.

“Synthetic fiber(s)” or “synthetic content” means fibers human-made fibers, and specifically excludes “wood fibers” and “non-wood fibers.” Synthetic fibers can be used, in combination with wood and/or non-wood fibers (e.g., bamboo) in the fibrous structures of the present disclosure. Synthetic fibers may be polymeric fibers. Synthetic fibers may comprise elastomeric polymers, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyester, polyolefin, polyvinyl alcohol and nylon, which are obtained from petroleum sources. Additionally, synthetic fibers may be polymeric fibers comprising natural polymers, which are obtained from natural sources, such as starch sources, protein sources and/or cellulose sources may be used in the fibrous structures of the present disclosure. The synthetic fibers may be produced by any suitable methods known in the art.

“Sanitary tissue product” as used herein means a wiping implement for post-urinary and/or post-bowel movement cleaning (referred to as “toilet paper,” “toilet tissue,” or “toilet tissue product”), for otorhinolaryngological discharges (referred to as “facial tissue” or “facial tissue product”) and/or multi-functional absorbent and cleaning uses (referred to as “paper towels,” “paper towel products,” “absorbent towels,” “absorbent towel products,” such as paper towel or “wipe products,” and including “napkins”).

“Ply” or “plies” as used herein means an individual finished fibrous structure optionally to be disposed in a substantially contiguous, face-to-face relationship with other plies, forming a multiple ply (“multi-ply”) sanitary tissue product. It is also contemplated that a single-ply sanitary tissue product can effectively form two “plies” or multiple “plies”, for example, by being folded on itself.

“Machine Direction” or “MD” as used herein means the direction parallel to the flow of the fibrous structure through the papermaking machine and/or product manufacturing equipment. In one example, once incorporated into a sanitary tissue product, the MD of the fibrous structure may be the MD of the sanitary tissue product.

“Cross Machine Direction” or “CD” as used herein means the direction perpendicular to the machine direction in the same plane of the fibrous structure. In one example, once incorporated into a sanitary tissue product, the CD of the fibrous structure may be the CD of the sanitary tissue product.

“Basis Weight” or “BW” as used herein is the weight per unit area of a sample reported in lbs/3000 ftor g/m. The basis weight is measured herein by the basis weight test method described in the Test Methods section herein.

“Dry Tensile Strength” (or “tensile strength” or “total dry tensile” or “TDT”) of a fibrous structure of the present disclosure and/or a sanitary tissue product comprising such fibrous structure is measured according to the Tensile Strength Test Method described herein. Higher TDT values are associated with stronger products and this is true for other tensile values, such as tensile ratio.

“Softness” of a fibrous structure or a sanitary tissue product as used herein may be determined according to the Softness Test Method described in the Test Methods section, which utilizes a human panel evaluation wherein the softness of a test product is measured versus the softness of a control or standard product; the resulting number being a relative measure of softness between the two fibrous structures and/or sanitary tissue products. Softness of a fibrous structure or a sanitary tissue product may also or alternatively be measured using TS7 according to the Emtec Test Method described in the Test Methods section.

“Absorbency” of a fibrous structure or a sanitary tissue as used herein means the characteristic to take up and retain fluids, particularly water and aqueous solutions and suspensions. In evaluating absorbency, not only is the absolute quantity of fluid a fibrous structure or a sanitary tissue product will hold significant, but the rate at which the fluid is absorbed can also be important. Absorbency may be measured herein as HFS (g/g) as capacity, CRT (g/sec) rate, SST (/sec{circumflex over ( )}0.5) rate, VFS (g/g) as capacity, PVD (mg), residual water (%), and/or CRT (g/g or g/in{circumflex over ( )}2) as capacity. More positive values for HFS, CRT (rate and capacity), SST, VFS, PVD, and residual water are associated with a more absorbent product.

“Lint” as used herein means any material that originated from a fibrous structure according to the present disclosure and/or sanitary tissue product comprising such fibrous structure that remains on a surface after which the fibrous structure and/or sanitary tissue product has come into contact. The lint value of a fibrous structure and/or sanitary tissue product comprising such fibrous structure is determined according to the Lint Test Method described herein.

“Texture” as used herein means any pattern present in the fibrous structure. For example, a pattern may be imparted to the fibrous structure during the fibrous structure-making process, such as during, for example, a TAD, UCTAD, fabric crepe, NTT, and/or QRT transfer step. A pattern may also be imparted to the fibrous structure by embossing the finished fibrous structure during the converting process and/or by any other suitable process known in the art.

“Color” as used herein, means a visual effect resulting from a human eye's ability to distinguish the different wavelengths or frequencies of light. The apparent color of an object depends on the wavelength of the light that it reflects. While a wide palette of colors can be employed herein, it is preferred to use a member selected from the group consisting of orange, purple, lavender, red, green, blue, yellow, and violet. The method for measuring color is described in the Color Test Method described herein.

“Rolled product(s)” as used herein include fibrous structures, paper, and sanitary tissue products that are in the form of a web and can be wound about a core. For example, rolled sanitary tissue products can be convolutedly wound upon itself about a core or without a core to form a sanitary tissue product roll and can be perforated into the form of discrete sheets, as is commonly known for toilet tissue and paper towels.

“Stacked product(s)” as used herein include fibrous structures, paper, and sanitary tissue products that are in the form of a web and cut into distinct separate sheets, where the sheets are folded (e.g., z-folded or c-folded) and may be interleaved with each other, such that a trailing edge of one is connected with a leading edge of another. Common examples of stacks of folded and/or interleaved sheets include facial tissues and napkins.

“Percent (%) difference,” “X % difference,” or “X % different” is calculated by: subtracting the lower value (e.g., common intensive property value) from the higher value (e.g., common intensive property value) and then dividing that value by the average of the lower and higher values, and then multiplying the result by 100.

“Within X %” or “within X percent” is calculated by the following non-limiting example: If first and second sanitary tissue products have a common intensive property (e.g., lint), and if a second lint value of the second sanitary tissue product is 10, then “within 25%” of the second lint value is calculated as follows for this example: multiplying 10 (the second lint value) by 25%, which equals 2.5, and then adding 2.5 to 10 (the second lint value) and subtracting 2.5 from 10 (the second lint value) to get a range, so that “within 25%” of the second lint value for this example means a lint value of or between 12.5 and 7.5). The absolute value of “X % change” can be used to determine if “within X %” is satisfied; for example can also be determined by using the absolute For example, if “X % change” is-25%, then a “within 25%” is satisfied, but if “X % change” is-25%, a “within 20%” is not satisfied.

“Percent (%) change,” “X % change,” or “X % change” is calculated by: subtracting the reference value (e.g., common intensive property value of a sustainable sanitary tissue product) from the comparative value (e.g., common intensive property value of a sanitary tissue product) and then dividing by the reference value, and then multiplying the result by 100. For example, if a reference value is 18 (e.g., a basis weight of a sustainable sanitary tissue product) and the comparative value is 31 (e.g., a basis weight of a soft sanitary tissue product), then 18 should be subtracted from 31, which equals 13, which should be divided by 18, which equals 0.722, which should be multiplied by 100, which equals 72.2% change.

Generally, the “bamboo,” “bamboo fibers,” “bamboo content,” or “bamboo fiber content” incorporated into fibrous structure(s) of the present disclosure are fibrous materials derived from any bamboo species. More particularly, the bamboo fiber species may be selected from the group consisting ofsp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp.,sp. and mixtures thereof.

The bamboo fibers may be from temperate bamboos of thespecies, for example, also known as Moso Bamboo. However, it is to be understood that the compositions disclosed herein, unless otherwise stated, are not limited to containing any one bamboo fiber and may comprise a plurality of fibers of different species. For example, the composition may comprise a bamboo from aand a bamboo from a different species such as, for example,

Bamboo fibers for use in the webs, fibrous structures, and products of the present disclosure may be produced by any appropriate methods known in the art. The bamboo fibers may be pulped bamboo fibers, produced by chemical processing of crushed bamboo stalk. The chemical processing may comprise treating the crushed bamboo stalk with an appropriate alkaline solution. The skilled artisan will be capable of selecting an appropriate alkaline solution. Bamboo fiber may also be produced by mechanical processing of crushed bamboo stalk, which may involve enzymatic digestion of the crushed bamboo stalk. Although bamboo fiber may be produced by any appropriate methods known in the art, a desirable method for manufacturing the bamboo pulp may be as a chemical pulping method such as, but not limited to, kraft, sulfite or soda/AQ pulping techniques.

Bamboo fibers of the present disclosure may be bamboo pulp fibers and may have an average fiber length of at least about 0.8 mm. When blends of fibers from various bamboo species are employed, it is noted that blends may comprise two or more species of bamboo, or may comprise three or more species of bamboo, such that the average fiber length is at least about 1.1 mm, at least about 1.5 mm, or from about 1.1 to about 2 mm. Fibrous structure(s) (including sanitary tissue products), web(s) that form the fibrous structure(s), layer(s) of a fibrous structure(s), and/or sheet(s) of a fibrous structure may comprise at least about 5%, about 10%, about 15%, about 20%, about 30%, about 40%, about 50%, about 75%, about 80%, or about 100% bamboo content, or from about 5% to about 15%, from about 10% to about 30%, from about 20% to about 40%, from about 30% to about 50%, from about 40% to about 60%, from about 50% to about 70%, from about 60% to about 80%, from about 70% to about 90%, from about 80% to about 100%, from about 90% to about 100%, from about 95% to about 100%, or from about 97.5% to about 100% bamboo content, specifically reciting all 0.1% increments within the above-recited ranges of this paragraph and all ranges formed therein or thereby.

Generally, the “abaca,” “abaca fibers,” “abaca content,” or “abaca fiber content” incorporated into fibrous structure(s) of the present disclosure are fibrous materials derived from(a species of banana native to the Philippines). Abaca may also be referred to as Manilla hemp, Cebu hemp, Davao hemp, Banana hemp orhemp and can be used to derive abaca cellulose fibers.

Abaca may have a fiber coarseness of greater than 16 mg/100 m (or less than 20 mg/100 m) and a fiber length of 2.5 mm, 2.6 mm, 2.7 mm, 2.8 mm or more. Beyond abaca, sunn hemp, kenaf, and sisal hemp may have these characteristics.

Abaca comprises characteristics that can make it challenging (especially at higher incorporation levels) for incorporating into sanitary tissue products of the present invention as it is better known for being used to produce thin, strong, and porous paper capable of withstanding hard use.

Fibrous structure(s) (including sanitary tissue products), web(s) that form the fibrous structure(s), layer(s) of a fibrous structure(s), and/or sheet(s) of a fibrous structure may comprise at least about 5%, about 10%, about 15%, about 20%, about 30%, about 40%, about 50%, about 75%, about 80%, or about 100% abaca content, or from about 5% to about 15%, from about 10% to about 30%, from about 20% to about 40%, from about 30% to about 50%, from about 40% to about 60%, from about 50% to about 70%, from about 60% to about 80%, from about 70% to about 90%, from about 80% to about 100%, from about 90% to about 100%, from about 95% to about 100%, or from about 97.5% to about 100% abaca content, specifically reciting all 0.1% increments within the above-recited ranges of this paragraph and all ranges formed therein or thereby.

Generally, the “hemp,” “hemp fibers,” “hemp content,” or “hemp fiber content” incorporated into fibrous structure(s) of the present disclosure may be made up of hemp cellulose fibers derived from the plantsorindica. The hemp cellulose fibers may be processed to a particulate fiber pulp.

Hemp cellulose fibers may be derived from one or more of the plant sources, Agava Sisalana (i.e., Sisal hemp).

is a genus of flowering plants that includes three different species,, and. Thestalk (or stem) consists of an open cavity surrounded by an inner layer of core fiber, often referred to as hurd, and an outer layer referred to as the bast. Bast fibers are roughly 20% of the stalk mass and the hurd 80% of the mass.bast fibers have a large range in length and diameter, but on average are very long with medium coarseness; suitable for making textiles, paper, and nonwovens. The hurd consists of very short, bulky fibers, typically 0.2-0.65 mm in length.

Fibrous structure(s) (including sanitary tissue products), web(s) that form the fibrous structure(s), layer(s) of a fibrous structure(s), and/or sheet(s) of a fibrous structure may comprise at least about 5%, about 10%, about 15%, about 20%, about 30%, about 40%, about 50%, about 75%, about 80%, or about 100% abaca content, or from about 5% to about 15%, from about 10% to about 30%, from about 20% to about 40%, from about 30% to about 50%, from about 40% to about 60%, from about 50% to about 70%, from about 60% to about 80%, from about 70% to about 90%, from about 80% to about 100%, from about 90% to about 100%, from about 95% to about 100%, or from about 97.5% to about 100% hemp content, specifically reciting all 0.1% increments within the above-recited ranges of this paragraph and all ranges formed therein or thereby.

Generally, the “bagasse,” “bagasse fibers,” “bagasse content,” or “bagasse fiber content” incorporated into fibrous structure(s) of the present disclosure may be made up of “sugar cane bagasse”—the dry pulpy residue left after the extraction of juice from sugar cane or sorghum stalks to extract their juice. Agave bagasse is similar, but is the material remnants after extracting blue agave sap.

Fibrous structure(s) (including sanitary tissue products), web(s) that form the fibrous structure(s), layer(s) of a fibrous structure(s), and/or sheet(s) of a fibrous structure may comprise at least about 5%, about 10%, about 15%, about 20%, about 30%, about 40%, about 50%, about 75%, about 80%, or about 100% abaca content, or from about 5% to about 15%, from about 10% to about 30%, from about 20% to about 40%, from about 30% to about 50%, from about 40% to about 60%, from about 50% to about 70%, from about 60% to about 80%, from about 70% to about 90%, from about 80% to about 100%, from about 90% to about 100%, from about 95% to about 100%, or from about 97.5% to about 100% bagasse content, specifically reciting all 0.1% increments within the above-recited ranges of this paragraph and all ranges formed therein or thereby.

Generally, the “flax,” “flax fibers,” “flax content,” or “flax fiber content” incorporated into fibrous structure(s) of the present disclosure may be made up of, in the family Linaceae. Flax fiber is extracted from the bast beneath the surface of the stem of the flax plant.

Fibrous structure(s) (including sanitary tissue products), web(s) that form the fibrous structure(s), layer(s) of a fibrous structure(s), and/or sheet(s) of a fibrous structure may comprise at least about 5%, about 10%, about 15%, about 20%, about 30%, about 40%, about 50%, about 75%, about 80%, or about 100% abaca content, or from about 5% to about 15%, from about 10% to about 30%, from about 20% to about 40%, from about 30% to about 50%, from about 40% to about 60%, from about 50% to about 70%, from about 60% to about 80%, from about 70% to about 90%, from about 80% to about 100%, from about 90% to about 100%, from about 95% to about 100%, or from about 97.5% to about 100% flax content, specifically reciting all 0.1% increments within the above-recited ranges of this paragraph and all ranges formed therein or thereby.

Generally, the “cotton,” “cotton fibers,” “cotton content,” or “cotton fiber content” incorporated into fibrous structure(s) of the present disclosure may be made up of cotton linters, which are fine, silky fibers that adhere to the seeds of the cotton plant after ginning. These curly fibers typically are less than ⅛ inch (3.2 mm) long. The term also may apply to the longer textile fiber staple lint, as well as the shorter fuzzy fibers from some upland species.