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Nonwoven products can be classified with respect to their end use markets. Of interest are the personal care, hygiene and healthcare markets. These include a wide array of products including baby diapers, feminine hygiene products, adult incontinence products, dry and wet wipes, training pants, cosmetic removal pads, nursing pads, nasal strips, adhesive for dental plates, disposable underwear, surgical (disposable caps, gowns, masks, shoe covers), drapes, wraps and packs, sponges, dressings, wipes, bed linen, contamination control gowns, examination gowns, trans-dermal drug delivery, shrouds, underpads, procedure packs, bag liners, fixation tapes, incubator mattresses and others [1].

A prominent feature of the nonwovens industry is that the majority of products consumed in the United States (US) are made in the US. The worldwide consumption of nonwovens in 1998 reached 2.4 million tons (8.1% of textile consumption) and is expected to reach 4.0 million tons by 2007 [2]. The production of nonwovens is concentrated as follows:

- 41% in United States.
- 30% in West Europe
- 8% in Japan
- 3.5% in China
- 17.5% in the rest of the world

It is expected that by 2007, China will be producing about 7% of the world total. While estimates vary, it is expected that the US nonwovens industry will show modest growth rates of 5% to 8% during the same period [3]. It is expected however, that the medical nonwovens and healthcare nonwovens will show a growth of 4% to 5% over the same period. This is partly due to the fact that these sectors are already saturated with nonwovens. That is, over 80% of fiber based products used in the healthcare industry are made up of nonwovens. Therefore, it is unlikely that significant growth in these sectors will come about.

Figure 1 shows the market penetration by nonwoven products in some key markets for a number of regions. It can be noted that both hygiene and healthcare US markets are fairly well penetrated by nonwoven products. Major growth opportunities lie outside the United States and in the industrial applications.

Figure 1. Regional Market Penetration

1. Jirsak, O., Larry C. W., “Nonwoven Textiles“, ISBN 0-890-89987-8, Carolina Academic Press, 1999.
2. Krcma, R., “Manual of Nonwovens“, The Textile Trade Press, Manchester, England, 1971.
3. Starr, J. R., “The Nonwoven Fabrics Handbook“, INDA, United States, 1992.

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