www.incontinentsupport.org

That is the news I just read about on the Yahoo site; Brew's Adult Incon. Don't know when this is due to happen but apparently the corporate decision has been made to abandon plastic backing and go to cloth like backing. There is mention that "cloth like backing" is becoming popular in Europe, hence the pressure on Abena to provide cloth like backing on their line of diapers.

There was also mention that Molicare may be going away.....and that is a premium plastic backed diaper.

Wellness briefs are the NASA diaper I'm sure you're all aware of.....it is plastic backed and supposedly rivals Abena XPlus and the Molicare in capacity......worth a try. They offer free samples....check out the website.

Has anyone checked with Gary at XPMedical? I think, if I recall correctly, he was instrumental in getting Abena to return to the classic type of diaper after they made a manufacturing change resulting in a not so good diaper.

I still get my disposables from XP, the mollicares. I use the "super" and they have changed the lavender color of the diaper to white. I will e-mail him to see what further changes may be on the way.
Paul Martin

There have been rumors of Abena going to clothlike backing for years now.

I asked Gary from XP Medical about this rumor a little while back, he confirmed that Abena currently has no plans to make any significant changes to their product line.

As long as the plastic backed Abena products continue to sell well in the US that is what Abena will continue to make for us.

Unfortunately these are not rumors, they are true. Starting sometime early next year production of the plastic-backed original diapers will cease for good.

Gary from XPMedical is currently trying to get them to at least continue the X-Plus line in Medium and Large sizes. I hope he can also get the Super lines running as well as there are plenty of people who need a more discrete option than the X-Plus.

From the e-mail I got from him:

The rumors are true; ABena is planning to phase out the plastic backed products next spring. We are negotiating to keep production running on at least a few of the products (probably the Med and Large X-Plus) but I do not have any news to report just yet. I have presented our concerns to Abena and they are considering it. We should know more in a few weeks.

If this goes through I won't be buying Abena anymore. Cloth-backed just does not meet my needs. I don't enjoy the chaffage from cloth-backing nor do I enjoy having urine sweat through the supposedly "waterproof" backsheet. Not a problem if you change in a reasonable amount of time but when you wet the bed you don't really have the option of changing until you are conscious again.

I suggest anybody who still wants their original line to continue to get on their website and go to their contact section, and let them know how you feel about this. From the sounds of things options are definitely going to be cut, but if more people speak up then perhaps we can minimize the damage.

I don't mind the "cloth" backed disposables as I find the velcro like tabs to hold better than the tape does on the plastic backed diapers. Yes they do tend to weep to the cloth like backing when the diaper becomes saturated. So far this has not been a problem for me as I wear cloth diapers at night. I don't use a great deal of disposables as I get a rash when wearing them for more than a day or two at a time. If I do wear a cloth backed diaper to bed I will cover the diaper with a pair of cottom briefs and a pair of plastic pants.

Well if they go there That will be another diaper I won't be wearing much anymore

Abena makes the plastic backed diapers and the air plus diaper. Both diapers sell well according to XPmed. I don't think the Abena is in any danger of going strictly cloth. I can't wear cloth backed diapers. They give me a rash. And they feel wet and cold. I have a great appreciation for plastic backed abena's. The VA buys them for me from XP.

WolfyMan87 wrote:Unfortunately these are not rumors, they are true. Starting sometime early next year production of the plastic-backed original diapers will cease for good.

Gary from XPMedical is currently trying to get them to at least continue the X-Plus line in Medium and Large sizes. I hope he can also get the Super lines running as well as there are plenty of people who need a more discrete option than the X-Plus.

From the e-mail I got from him:

The rumors are true; ABena is planning to phase out the plastic backed products next spring. We are negotiating to keep production running on at least a few of the products (probably the Med and Large X-Plus) but I do not have any news to report just yet. I have presented our concerns to Abena and they are considering it. We should know more in a few weeks.

If this goes through I won't be buying Abena anymore. Cloth-backed just does not meet my needs. I don't enjoy the chaffage from cloth-backing nor do I enjoy having urine sweat through the supposedly "waterproof" backsheet. Not a problem if you change in a reasonable amount of time but when you wet the bed you don't really have the option of changing until you are conscious again.

I suggest anybody who still wants their original line to continue to get on their website and go to their contact section, and let them know how you feel about this. From the sounds of things options are definitely going to be cut, but if more people speak up then perhaps we can minimize the damage.

I sent both Abena and Gary an email last week about this, never got an answer back from either but I did state my displeasure to Abena about it.
I ordered two more cases today since Gary still has them in stock. I really don't need them right now as I have three cases plus 2 bags and I hope my wife doesn't mind. I told her yesterday about the possible change. She said "Sure, when you find something good they stop making it".

JoeK wrote:Wellness briefs are the NASA diaper I'm sure you're all aware of.....it is plastic backed and supposedly rivals Abena XPlus and the Molicare in capacity......worth a try. They offer free samples....check out the website.

They're good, but they are more expensive so I went back to the M4 Abena's. I still have a couple bags of the Wellness stashed, I use them when I'm going to be driving/sitting for a long trip.

Don wrote:Abena makes the plastic backed diapers and the air plus diaper. Both diapers sell well according to XPmed. I don't think the Abena is in any danger of going strictly cloth. I can't wear cloth backed diapers. They give me a rash. And they feel wet and cold. I have a great appreciation for plastic backed abena's. The VA buys them for me from XP.

Unfortunately the danger is very real. Gary is doing what he can to at least keep some options (medium and large M4) around but most of the selection in Abena's plastic-backed line is almost certainly going away for good.

http://disposablediaper.net/faq.asp?16

I found this article when doing some googling that explains a lot of it.

Basically there is just a "perception" of cloth-backed disposables being more comfortable...and (at least in my experience, and many other people's too) that's not true at all. There's also the fact that a cloth-backed disposable feels a lot less like a diaper to many people. I admit my first inclination was not to try a plastic-backed disposable once I learned there were other possibilities. But the cloth-backed stuff chaffes and urine sweats through the backsheet, it's just...a bad, bad solution for me. And they aren't any cooler. I think I remember reading that they only dissipate about 10% more heat than a normal plastic-backed disposable. Not something I'm willing to trade any degree of watertightness for =/.

There's also the (incorrect) assumption that cloth-backed disposables are more environmentally friendly...which, again, isn't true. "Cloth-backed" is still plastic, it's just woven different to give it a different feel. They're still going to wind up in a landfill (which I have no qualms about but that is a nasty political subject I don't care to touch).

Anyway I suspect they are getting market pressure to "appear" more environmentally friendly, and have less "diaper-like" products on the market.

I still can't imagine this decision doing any good for them. They sell too many plastic-backed diapers for this to be a smart move. Even if they only make up 20% of their sales, on the scale they are selling...that's just very, very stupid.