Nonwoven Materials Market – Insights
Nonwoven materials are structures bonded together by interweaving filaments or fiber chemically, mechanically, or thermally. Nonwoven material has application as filtration material, household fabric, and is also used in personal care, and hygiene products. The use of renewable resources in various industries for production of polypropylene is expected to attract a larger customer base. For instance, in January 2019, LyondellBasell, a plastic, chemical, and refining company, and Neste, producer of renewable diesel from waste and residues, collaborated for the production of bio-based polypropylene. This initiation is expected to increase demand for sustainable nonwoven materials, owing to use of renewable resources such as polypropylene as raw material.
Furthermore, non-woven materials are used to manufacture automobile accessories such as car seat backing, car headliners, and car and motorcycle covers is expected to drive demand for nonwoven materials in the automotive sector. For instance, according to the American Automotive Policy Council’s data published in 2018, the automotive sector is the largest manufacturing sector in the U.S., responsible for 3% of the U.S. GDP. According to same source, the U.S. car production in 2017 was 11.3 million, whereas the Center for Automotive Research estimates U.S. auto sales to exceed 16.8 million vehicles/year by 2025.
Carbon footprint and life cycle analysis are main factors in the manufacturing of nonwoven material-based products. The disposal of nonwoven materials is a major concern for manufacturers. For instance, disposal of wet wipes, refreshing towels, and other similar products poses a threat to the environment. These products do not disintegrated fully, and can clog the sewage system when flushed, which in turn, leading to additional expenses for cleaning the sewage. These factors can prompt users to opt for alternative products made from cellulose, viscose, and others, and hamper growth of the global nonwoven materials market.
Nonwoven materials are of low strength and durability compared to woven fabrics. Furthermore, easy availability of nonwoven substitutes such as cotton, viscose, and cellulose is expected to hamper growth of the global nonwoven materials market over the forecast period.
The global nonwoven materials market was valued at US$ 44,768.8 Mn in 2018, and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 6.4%, in terms of revenue over the forecast period (2019-2027), to reach US$ 77,676.1 Mn by 2027.
Figure 1. Global Nonwoven Materials Market Share (%), By Region, 2018
Source: Coherent Market Insights, 2018-19
Among region, Asia Pacific accounted for the largest revenue share in the global nonwoven materials market in 2018, and is expected to hold its dominance over the forecast period. Whereas, in 2018, Europe accounted for the second largest share in the market. The growth is driven by the increasing automotive industry, which is expected to facilitate demand for nonwoven materials over the forecast period. For instance, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, in 2017, in the European Union, 19.6 million motor vehicles were produced, of which 17 million were passenger cars, and remaining 2.6 million were commercial vehicles.
Based on application, global nonwoven materials market is segregated into personal care & hygiene, medical, household, filtration, textile, automotive, building and construction, and others. In 2018, the textile segment accounted for the largest revenue share of 25.8% in the global market. In the textile industry, nonwoven materials are used in production of shoes and clothing such as interlining, working clothes, and disposable undergarments.
Figure 2. Global Nonwoven Materials Market Share (%), By Application, 2018
Source: Coherent Market Insights, 2018-19
Significant growth of the textile industry is expected to drive demand for nonwoven materials. For instance, according to European Apparel and Textile Confederation report of 2017, the value of the textile and clothing industry in EU 28 increased to US$ 206.9 billion in 2017 from US$ 200.4 billion in 2016. Moreover, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation report on textiles and apparels (November 2018), India’s domestic textile industry reached US$ 150 billion in 2017 from US$ 137 billion in 2016.
Major players operating in the global nonwoven materials market include Berry Global Group, Toray Industries, Inc., Johns Manville, Freudenberg SE, DuPont de Nemours, Inc., Ahlstrom-Munksjo Oyj, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, P. H. Glatfelter Company, and Suominen Corporation.
Key Developments
Increasing adoption of nonwoven materials in development of sensors is expected to boost the market growth. For instance, in July 2019, researchers from Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences reported use of polyaniline nanofiber wrapped nonwoven fabric as the active material to construct high performance, flexible, all fabric pressure sensors with a bottom interdigitated textile electrode.
R&D of novel manufacturing methods for nonwoven materials is also expected to boost the market growth. For instance, researchers from the Qingdao University, China, reported development of a practical method for preparing multifunctional polypropylene nonwoven fabrics with excellent stability and durability by sputtering the polypropylene nonwoven fabric by a magnetron sputtering system to form a silver film on the surface of the fabric.
Novel use of nonwoven materials in drug delivery systems is expected to aid the market growth. For instance, in December 2018, researchers from National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Japan, reported use of a nonwoven fabric, manufactured through a melt-blown method using polyethylene terephthalate pellets, to fabricate a drug-containing tablet through CO2-assisted polymer compression.
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