Glossary

The spec-sheet terms, in plain English

Product pages and spec tables use terms that are second nature to us and unfamiliar to most people ordering for the first time. 33 of them, explained here, from GSM and SAP through to certification codes and trade terms like MOQ.

Materials & Construction

GSM: Grams per square metre: the standard way to measure how heavy or dense a fabric is. A higher GSM top sheet or backing film is thicker and more resistant to tearing; a lower GSM is lighter and cheaper. It describes a single layer, not the whole finished product, so it is worth asking which layer a GSM figure refers to when comparing suppliers.
SAP (Super Absorbent Polymer): The material inside an absorbent core that turns liquid into a gel and locks it away from the surface. “SAP loading” is how much of it is packed into a pad, usually in grams. More loading generally means the product can go longer between changes before it leaks or feels wet.
Fluff pulp: A fluffy, wood-pulp material that makes up the bulk of an absorbent core, usually mixed with SAP. It spreads liquid through the pad quickly so the SAP has a large surface area to absorb across.
PE film (Polyethylene film): A thin plastic film used as a waterproof backing or barrier layer. It is what stops fluid soaking through a pad, sheet or gown onto whatever is underneath.
CPE (Cast Polyethylene): A specific, fully impervious polyethylene film used for isolation gowns. Unlike a non-woven gown, literally nothing passes through CPE, which is why it is the standard choice where fluid protection actually matters.
Non-woven: Fabric made by bonding or pressing fibres together rather than weaving or knitting them. It is cheaper and faster to produce than woven fabric, and is the base material behind most disposable medical textiles: top sheets, gowns, masks.
Hydrophilic: Literally “water-loving”: a material treated to attract and absorb moisture rather than repel it. Hydrophilic non-woven fabric is used where a layer needs to pull liquid through quickly, the opposite of a waterproof (hydrophobic) layer.
Backsheet: The outer, waterproof layer of a diaper, brief or pad, usually a PE film, that stops absorbed liquid escaping outward.
Strike-through: When liquid passes straight through a material instead of being absorbed or blocked: the failure a fluid-barrier layer exists to prevent.
Re-wet: Liquid that was absorbed into a pad coming back up to the surface under pressure, such as someone sitting or lying on it. Lower re-wet means the surface stays drier for longer.
Latex free: Contains no natural rubber latex. Matters because latex is one of the more common material allergies in clinical settings, and an allergic reaction from PPE or bedding is entirely avoidable.
Dermatologically safe: Tested and confirmed safe for prolonged, direct skin contact, relevant for anything worn or lain against the body for hours at a time.

Product Features

Thumb-loop cuff: A small loop at the wrist of a gown sleeve that the wearer's thumb goes through. It anchors the sleeve in place so it cannot ride up when gloves go on over it, closing the gap between glove and cuff where skin exposure actually happens.
Leak guards (standing leg cuffs): Raised fabric barriers around the leg openings of a brief or diaper that stand up against the skin, containing flow at the point where a flat pad would otherwise leak sideways.
Doffing: The act of taking off personal protective equipment (gowns, gloves, masks) in a way that avoids the wearer contaminating themselves in the process. The opposite of “donning” (putting it on).
Threading (wax string): Thin threads, or a wax-coated string, woven through a disposable bed sheet so it grips the mattress and holds its position under a moving patient, rather than sliding or bunching up.

Certifications & Standards

ISO 13485: The international quality management standard specific to medical device manufacturing. It is a higher bar than general ISO 9001: proof a factory's processes are built around consistently safe, traceable medical-grade production.
ISO 9001: The general international standard for quality management systems, used across manufacturing industries broadly, not just medical.
CE mark: A marking that means a product meets European Union health, safety and performance standards. It is a regulatory requirement to sell into the EU, not a quality claim on its own.
FDA registered: Registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: the facility is on record with the US regulator for the applicable product lines.
KN95: The Chinese national standard for filtering respirators (defined by GB2626-2006), certified to filter at least 95% of airborne particulates. Broadly equivalent in filtration performance to the US N95 and Australian/NZ P2 standards, but it is a different certification, not the same one under a different name.
N95 / P2: The US (N95) and Australian/New Zealand (P2) standards for filtering respirators, both requiring at least 95% filtration efficiency. If your setting specifically requires N95 or P2 certification rather than KN95, flag that when you enquire.
GB2626-2006: The Chinese national standard document that defines the KN95 respirator classification, the certification number quoted on spec sheets.
PM2.5: Airborne particles 2.5 micrometres or smaller, roughly 30 times finer than a human hair. It is the size class respirator filtration ratings, like KN95's ≥95%, are measured against, because particles this small are the hardest to filter.

Trade & Ordering

MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity): The smallest quantity a supplier will produce or sell in a single order. It matters most on raw materials and custom specifications: a stock size might have no MOQ, while a custom width or colour usually does.
Carton / pallet: The standard wholesale packing and ordering units. A carton is the smallest sellable box quantity (the number varies by product, see each product's pack note); a pallet is a bulk load of cartons, the unit larger facilities typically order and reorder against.
PPE (Personal Protective Equipment): Equipment worn to protect against infection or contamination risk: in this range, isolation gowns and respirator masks.
Converter / converting: A business that buys raw material on the roll (film, non-woven fabric) and processes it into a finished product. If you make your own private-label pads, briefs or liners, you are a converter, and it is converters who buy raw-material rolls rather than finished product.

Care Settings

Continence care: Products and care practices relating to managing bladder or bowel control: underpads, briefs and liners, essentially.
Infection control: The protocols and products used to stop infection spreading between patients, residents or staff, a big part of why PPE, single-use bedding and surface protection exist in clinical and aged care settings at all.
Bariatric: Relating to the care of patients with obesity, including equipment and products rated for higher weight capacities than standard.
Sub-acute: A level of hospital care for patients who no longer need intensive acute treatment but are not yet ready to go home: rehabilitation and recovery wards, essentially.
Palliative care: Care focused on comfort and quality of life for someone with a serious or terminal illness, rather than on curing the condition.

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