I am happy to mention the May Day holiday, and many friends' travel plans are on the agenda.
But when I go out to play, I have to wash my underwear by hand after a tiring day, which is really painful! I save up and go home and wash it again, and I am worried that bacteria and microorganisms will multiply. Therefore, many friends will choose disposable underwear, which is very convenient to throw away when they are finished.
Some netizens said that after wearing unqualified disposable underwear, not only did they not become cleaner and more hygienic, but it caused gynecological diseases, because they bought disposable underwear processed from "recycled cotton".
Image source: Douyin @黑狗酱
So, as ordinary consumers, how can we choose safe and hygienic disposable underwear?
Look at the standard:
Identify the category of hygiene standards + safety technology
1
Hygienic standards
Look for GB15979-2002 "Hygienic Standard for Disposable Hygiene Products". This standard has strict requirements for bacteria, E. coli, fungi and other aspects, and it can be seen whether the disinfection requirements are up to standard.
Image source: GB15979-2002 "Hygienic Standards for Disposable Hygiene Products" [S]
2
Safety Technology Category
Look for GB18401-2010 "National Basic Safety Technical Specifications for Textile Products". Textile products for infants and young children should meet the requirements of Category A, products that come into direct contact with the skin should meet at least Category B requirements, and products that do not come into direct contact with the skin should meet at least Category C requirements. That's why we look for Class A or Class B when buying disposable underwear.
Image source: GB18401-2010 "National Basic Safety Technical Specifications for Textile Products" [S]
3
Product standards
The product standard can be seen that the production of disposable underwear is not qualified, such as the situation that it is not easy to break and take off the thread. At present, there is no special product standard for disposable underwear in the national standard, and most of the enterprise standards follow the standard of GB/T8878-2023 "Knitted Underwear", which is the common underwear and underwear standard. Since the latest version of the knitted underwear standard was only implemented on December 1, 2023, the products produced before this time are still marked with the standard number of GB/T 8878-2014, as shown in the figure below↓
Image source: Screenshot of the e-commerce platform
When we buy disposable underwear, we must pay attention to whether the packaging is marked with "health standards" and "safety technology categories", many three-no products do not have these two standards, and some products may only be marked with one.
Look at the sterilization process:
Look for high-energy electron beam sterilization
Disposable products are usually worn directly without washing, and it is inevitable that bacteria will stay on the fabric during production, and disposable underwear itself is a product that touches the private parts, so be sure to choose a product that has undergone a "sterilization process".
Searching for "disposable underwear" on the e-commerce platform found that disposable underwear is simply the hardest hit area of three no products, and there is no certificate on these packaging bags, and even disposable underwear with no manufacturer information has a high purchase volume.
Because these products are marked "high temperature sterilized" on the main page of the product, they are very confusing to consumers. Therefore, we must pay attention to the sterilization method when purchasing.
Image source: Screenshot of the e-commerce platform
1
Ethylene oxide sterilization
Most disposable underwear is sterilized with ethylene oxide (EO). Ethylene oxide is a broad-spectrum sterilant that kills a variety of microorganisms at room temperature. This technology is very mature, such as our "medical disposable mask" is widely used in this technology, but it has a disadvantage that "ethylene oxide" has a peculiar smell, and if the manufacturer does not completely disperse the smell, it will remain on the fabric.
Image source: Screenshot of the e-commerce platform
2
High-energy electron beam sterilization
Another sterilization process is even better, which is "high-energy electron beam sterilization", which uses radiation to kill microorganisms remaining in the product packaging. It has the advantage of thorough sterilization, safe operation and no residue. This technology is widely used in food sterilization, such as the "dehydrated vegetables" in the instant noodles we eat, because there is no additional chemical sterilizer introduced, so there is no odor residue.
Image source: Screenshot of the e-commerce platform
Look at the craft: look for knitting
Cheap disposable underwear is usually made of "non-woven" material, and the biggest advantage is that it is cheap. Its production process is similar to that of a face towel, but if you pull it a little, you will find that it is easy to lose shape or even break holes, and if you rub it a few times, there will be visible flocculents. It is often found in public places such as sauna halls and beauty salons.
The non-woven material used in this disposable underwear is very similar to the "disposable mask", the main composition is polyester fiber (polyester) and polypropylene (polypropylene), which is not breathable and sweat-absorbent, and it will feel stuffy and unbreathable after wearing it for an hour or two.
Image source: Screenshot of the e-commerce platform
Good disposable underwear is usually made of knitted fabric, which is the same fabric as the underwear fabric we usually wear. Fabrics made of interwoven yarns ensure that they don't get out of shape when worn, and they fit the body better, while the yarns hug each other closely, resulting in much less fluffing than disposable underwear made of non-woven fabrics.
Image source: Screenshot of the e-commerce platform
Look at the material:
Regenerated cellulose/viscose
In everyone's subconscious, the first reaction must be that cotton is the best material, but for "disposable underwear", this is not necessarily the case.
Cotton is naturally grown, due to variety, planting area, management methods and climatic factors, the quality of cotton will be different, after the cotton harvest, professional institutions will grade the cotton. Good quality cotton is usually used to make high-end home textiles, high-end shirts, etc., which can sell more products at a premium; ordinary cotton is used as daily T-shirts and clothes to open up market sales; and low-quality cotton will be used to make disposable products, which can reasonably exert its value and achieve the purpose of low price. There are many disposable underwear on the market that are made of pure cotton, mainly medium and low count combed cotton fabrics.
Image source: Screenshot of the e-commerce platform
The material that is more suitable for disposable underwear is "regenerated cellulose fiber/viscose fiber". The material is made by dissolving "tree or cottonseed lint" and then spinning it, allowing the molecular structure of the cellulose fibers to be rearranged to achieve 50% higher moisture absorption than cotton itself. Secondly, "regenerated cellulose fiber" belongs to artificially manufactured fibers, so the length control is more stable, generally between 36~40mm, which is already the length of long-staple cotton level fibers, so the fabrics produced are not easy to lose hair.
Image source: Screenshot of the e-commerce platform
Because the raw material source of regenerated cellulose fiber/viscose fiber is trees that can be planted on a large scale, the production cost is very low, usually only about 7% of the price of cotton yarn, so the cost performance is also higher.
However, this material has the disadvantage that it is easy to wash down when washed (poor wet strength) and is also prone to shrinkage. But this huge defect is just avoided in disposable panties, which just don't need to think about washing.
Tips:
1. Can disposable underwear be worn after washing it once?
The fabric and sewing thread of disposable underwear are usually relatively loose and loose, and it is easy to have problems such as thread opening, damage, and wrinkles after washing, resulting in a significantly bad experience of continuing to wear after washing, and it is not recommended to wear it after washing.
2. Is it really okay to wear disposable underwear for a long time?
It is okay to wear disposable underwear for a long time, but this long-term wear refers to "wearing underwear once but changing it frequently", which does not have the risk of bacterial growth. However, it is not recommended to wear a pair of disposable underwear for a long time, bacteria are easy to breed, and the fabric and design of disposable underwear are not considered for long-term use, and damage, flocculent, and thread loss are easy to occur after long-term wear.
Planning and production
Author丨Yao Weiming is a textile chemical engineer
Audit丨Song Lidan, Consulting Engineer of Industrial Research Department of China Textile Construction Planning Institute
Planning丨Fu Sijia
Editor丨Fu Sijia
Reviewer丨Xu Lai Linlin