China's maternal and hygiene products industry is at a crossroads: on one side, technological breakthroughs in bio-based absorbent materials, ultra-thin cores, and fine-denier nonwovens bring product upgrade dividends; on the other, demographic shifts and overcapacity create market saturation. At the 2026 annual conference held in Shanghai on July 16, the industry made a clear judgment: technological innovation has moved from single-point breakthroughs to systemic improvement, but the real test lies in converting tech advantages into sustainable competitiveness.
Current Situation: Breakthroughs Amidst Growing Pains
Li Guimei, president of the China Nonwovens & Industrial Textiles Association (CNITA), noted that during the '14th Five-Year Plan' period, the industry achieved breakthroughs in bio-based absorbent materials, ultra-thin cores, fine-denier nonwovens, intelligent products, and functional finishing technologies. This means the era of relying on a single technology 'trick' is over, replaced by full-chain innovation from raw materials to equipment to end products. However, Yan Huarong, president of the CNITA Health & Maternal Products Branch, admitted that the industry is in a period of demographic transition and deep adjustment, with overcapacity and market saturation intertwined. For buyers, this means more supplier choices, but homogeneous products are more prone to price wars.
New Channel Rise: Content E-commerce and Instant Retail Reshape Decisions
A key topic was channel transformation. Kang Shiqing from Douyin e-commerce shared that new-generation parents' consumption habits are accelerating toward content-driven, scenario-based shopping, with short videos and livestreaming becoming core decision-making arenas. Liangzi from Xiaohongshu pointed out that the platform has become a key entry for young parents' parenting decisions, requiring precise audience targeting and scenario content. Instant retail was also hotly debated during roundtable discussions, covering warehouse-store integration and how physical stores respond to impacts. For foreign trade companies, these new channels mean cross-border marketing logic must update—no longer product-listing promotion, but trust-building through content.
Equipment and Material Innovation: From Pain Points to Smart Manufacturing
Equipment innovation is equally noteworthy. Trützschler launched new carding machines NCX/NCTX and hot-air ovens to address issues like uneven web and long downtime, significantly improving product loft and consistency. Andritz showcased wet-laid flushable technology using bio-based raw materials like wood pulp and viscose, with an annual capacity of 16,000 tons, and its neXformer dual-diffuser system achieves optimal fiber dispersion at high speed. Shanghai Songchuan Fengguan introduced a whole-line intelligent packaging solution for hygiene products, achieving 1500 pieces per minute. Futian Seiko proposed a '4D intelligent manufacturing' system focusing on glue-free products and unmanned equipment. These upgrades mean factories can reduce labor costs through automation while improving product consistency—an effective tool against market saturation.
Standards and Norms: Quality Control from 'Soft Requirements' to 'Hard Constraints'
The conference emphasized the importance of production environment standards for disposable hygiene products. The group standard 'Evaluation Specification for Production Environment of Disposable Sanitary Products Enterprises,' led by CNITA, has been implemented, providing clear guidelines. For buyers, this standard can serve as a key reference for supplier screening—companies meeting the standard offer better product stability and safety.