Caring for customers like Caden depends on quality hygiene products

Years before his career led him to International Paper, Colton Ragan married his best friend, Kaylee. The newlyweds soon began the process of pursuing domestic adoption — a process that opened their eyes to the fragile beauty of life and the importance of quality in the materials used in baby care products. 

A new member of the family begins life in the NICU 

In May 2014, Colton and Kaylee received the call they had been anxiously awaiting. “We were told the baby was born very critical and very small. He was being cared for in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) several hours from home. We left the next day to meet our son, Caden.” 

At 23 weeks gestation, and weighing only 1 lb. 3 oz., Caden would spend the first six months of his life in the NICU. “His team of doctors shared that he was about the smallest size that babies are ever able to survive outside the womb. His skin was nearly translucent, his eyelids were fused together, and it was painful for him to be touched,” Ragan recalls. In addition to being very susceptible to brain bleeds and a myriad of other medical issues, he was born with a series of cysts on his brain that typically leads to a Cerebral Palsy diagnosis. 

An eye-opening experience 

“Caden taught us how fragile human life can be,” said Ragan. For the next two years, the Ragan family made countless hospital visits and spent many nights in pediatric hospital rooms caring for Caden. Ragan remembers, “It wasn’t until I went to work for the International Paper Columbus Modified Fiber’s (CMF) quality team in 2018, that it actually dawned on me how critical the quality of our products is – especially for babies like mine.”   

“It’s beyond humbling to stand where I stand now knowing that such a critical component of every Pampers diaper is produced by the men and women at IP's CMF. Everything we do matters."

Colton Ragan

Quality fibers for critical hygiene products 

“When I look back on all those days in the hospital with Caden, I only ever saw one brand of diapers: Pampers.” IP’s CMF facility is the primary producer of Helix®  Fiber, an absorbent fiber that is used by P&G to produce diapers for its baby-care brands, Pampers and Luvs. In fact, nearly every Pampers diaper in North America has fiber from IP’s CMF facility.   

Each and every day, infants like Caden are being cared for in NICUs across the world. These babies represent some of the most fragile lives that exist, and there is one brand that is the #1 choice of US hospitals – Pampers.

Taking pride in unmatched quality 

Ragan says, “It’s beyond humbling to stand where I stand now knowing that such a critical component of every Pampers diaper is produced by the men and women at IP's CMF. Everything we do matters. Of course, we always want our products to be free of contamination, but more than anything, I want our products to perform perfectly. These parents should only be focused on one thing – welcoming their baby home!”  

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