Today, diapers, wet wipes and feminine hygiene products are all important parts of the global nonwovens industry, which will be worth US$55.6 billion by 2022. There is growing demand and demand from consumers and legislators to replace the use of single-use plastics with more sustainable nonwovens, even including the market deployment of more advanced biodegradable fiber-based materials.
Smithers’ latest expert research report, The Future of Fibers and Polymers Nonwovens 2027, charts the evolution of this trend and the wider impact on nonwovens supply and product performance. Its data shows that in 2022, 100% of the polymers used in polymer nonwovens will be plastics (PE, PET, PP and others). 64% of fiber nonwovens are plastic components (PP or PET fibers); the remainder are rayon, Lyocell, bicomponent fibers and wood pulp.
This market is evenly distributed: it is expected that the world will produce 6.53 million tons of fiber nonwovens in 2022, worth US$28.7 billion. In comparison, the polymer nonwovens market consumes 6.64 million tons and is valued at US$27 billion; the fiber-polymer composite nonwovens market is much smaller, estimated at 225,200 tons and valued at US$761.9 million.
In 2022, fiber-based nonwovens are at the technological lead in producing sustainable, increasingly plastic-free products. This will lead to accelerated demand for multiple applications until 2027. Matching the technical properties of polymer nonwovens will be a leading R&D focus to enable a more sustainable future in an industry where most forms of consumption remain single-use.
This will be balanced with the introduction of new nonwoven processes and other iterative trends such as producing lower basis weight substrates. At the same time, the market will see the wider use of recycled plastics and bioplastics such as polyhydroxyalkanes (PHAs) providing alternative routes to more sustainable nonwovens.
These factors will hinder a broader transition to fiber-based nonwovens, leaving the two materials with nearly equal growth rates until 2027 – fiber-based nonwovens at 6.9%; polymers is 6.8%.
Most of the growth in fiber nonwovens will come from drylaid nonwovens. Globally, the consumption of dry lamination, the main production process for polymer nonwovens, will grow faster than spunlace, but the growth of airlaid and wetlaid will slow down significantly.
The biggest growth in completely plastic-free nonwovens will be in wipes, leveraging this technology to increasingly diversify the range of flushable wipes. In contrast, sales of polymer-based disposable nonwovens will continue to grow, particularly in the dominant hygiene market, which currently has no cost-competitive sustainable alternatives.
In terms of durable nonwovens, garment linings will become more widely used in the fashion industry. As nonwovens continue to replace higher-cost, heavier textiles in multiple areas, there is also a very positive outlook for fiber-based coating matrices.
In “The Future of Fibers and Polymer Nonwovens in 2027” we can see the history, current and future market prospects of polymer nonwovens, and experts’ opinions on completely plastic-free nonwovens Analysis of when and where publishing is feasible. Its authoritative market data set segments the market (value, tonnage, surface area) into:
Raw materials (PP polymers, PET polymers, PE polymers, other polymers; PP fibers, PET fibers, Rayon/Lyocell, bicomponent fiber, wood pulp, other fibers)
Nonwoven process (spunbond, dry-laid, air-laid, wet-laid, other)
End use applications (hygiene, medical, baby wipes, personal care wipes, home care wipes, industrial wipes, other disposable nonwovens; air and gas filtration, liquid filtration, apparel, linings, footwear and Leather, Coated Substrates, Upholstery & Bedding, Floor Coverings, Construction & Roofing, Geotextiles & Civil Engineering, Automotive, Agriculture, Other Durable Nonwovens Regional Market (Asia, North America, South America, Europe, Rest of the World region).
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