The elevated consumption of disinfecting wipes due to COVID-19, and plastics-free demand from governments and consumers and growth in industrial wipes are creating high demand for spunlace nonwoven materials through 2026, according to new research from Smithers. The report by veteran Smithers author Phil Mango, The Future of Spunlace Nonwovens through 2026, sees increasing global demand for sustainable nonwovens, of which spunlace is a major contributor.
The largest end use for spunlace nonwovens by far is wipes; the pandemic-related surge in disinfecting wipes even increased this. In 2021, wipes account for 64.7% of all spunlace consumption in tonnes. The global consumption of spunlace nonwovens in 2021 is 1.6 million tonnes or 39.6 billion m2, valued at $7.8 billion. Growth rates for 2021–26 are forecast at 9.1% (tonnes), 8.1% (m2), and 9.1% ($), the Smithers’ study outlines. The most common type of spunlace is the standard card-card spunlace, which is 2021 accounts for about 76.0% of all spunlace volume consumed.
Spunlace in wipes
Wipes are already the major end-use for spunlace, and spunlace is the major nonwoven used in wipes. The global drive to reduce/eliminate plastics in wipes has spawned several new spunlace variants by 2021; this will continue to keep spunlace the dominant nonwoven for wipes through 2026. By 2026, wipes will grow its share of spunlace nonwovens consumption to 65.6%.
Sustainability and plastic-free products
One of the most significant drivers of the last decade is the drive to reduce/eliminate plastics in wipes and other nonwoven products. While the European Union’s single use plastics directive was the catalyst, the reduction of plastics in nonwovens has become a global driver and especially for spunlace nonwovens.
Spunlace producers are working to develop more sustainable options to replace polypropylene, especially spunbond polypropylene in SP spunlace. Here, PLA and PHA, though both “plastics” are under evaluation. PHAs especially, being biodegradable even in marine environments, may be useful in the future. It appears the global demand for more sustainable products will accelerate through 2026.
Post time: Apr-26-2024