Thursday, November 20
9:00 am - 11:00 am
Case Studies in Comfort: How Wool Brings New Performance to Diapers and Femcare
Consumers want hygiene products that deliver dryness, softness, and fit—comfort attributes long defined by plastics. At the same time, consumers are increasingly demanding sustainable products. Thermal and microclimate comfort remains largely unrecognized: while parents monitor baby temperature, they rarely associate wet diapers with humidity, cooling, or discomfort, revealing a latent opportunity for materials innovation.
Woolchemy, a New Zealand–based, women-led, biomaterials company, has developed neweFlex, the first wool-based Acquisition Distribution Layer (ADL), made from its award-winning hygiene-grade wool neweFibre. Independent testing shows that neweFlex delivers low strikethrough, low rewet, and breathability. Case studies in baby diapers and femcare demonstrate outcomes including dryness, odour control, and thermal regulation.
Wool is a renewable, biodegradable fibre composed primarily of keratin—the same protein found in human skin and hair. Wool provides natural compatibility alongside sustainability, offering a pathway for next-generation hygiene products that address both performance expectations and overlooked aspects of comfort.
» Alana Cheape
Chief Product & Marketing Officer, Woolchemy NZ Ltd
BIOGRAPHY
Alana Cheape is Chief Product & Marketing Officer at Woolchemy, a New Zealand-based biomaterials company pioneering wool-based nonwovens for absorbent hygiene applications.With nearly 20 years in the global personal hygiene sector, Alana has led brand and product innovation in marketing and innovation roles at Kimberly-Clark across New Zealand, Europe, and Asia. Her expertise spans consumer insight, product development, and brand strategy—always anchored in science-backed, consumer-preferred innovation.
After observing the growing demand for sustainable hygiene solutions—and the absence of high-performance alternatives—Alana returned to New Zealand to lead strategic initiatives in nature-based industries. Joining Woolchemy was a natural next step: an opportunity to commercialise high-performing, renewable fibre materials that meet industry standards, reduce reliance on synthetics, and deliver on consumer expectations.
With over five years of hands-on R&D in wool-based nonwovens, Alana now partners with global brands to reimagine diapers, femcare, and incontinence products. Her belief is simple: for sustainability to succeed, it must earn consumer trust through uncompromising performance.
Alana brings a rare blend of corporate expertise, deep consumer empathy, and material science understanding to help the hygiene industry transition toward more responsible materials—better for both people and the planet.
