Is Nonwoven Material the Future of the Textile Industry?

 

The nonwoven fabric has become an integral part of the textile industry in recent years. Nonwoven fabrics are made of short (staple) fibers and long fibers that are bonded together by mechanical, chemical, heat or solvent treatment. They provide specific functions such as strength, stretch, resilience, softness, liquid repellence, absorbency, filtration, acoustic insulation, thermal insulation, cushioning, washability, flame retardancy, use as a bacterial barrier and sterility. Moreover, nonwoven fabric is the most widely used textile product in the automotive industry. Nonwoven fabric is often called the future of the textile industry as its global demand and versatility are only getting higher and higher.

Most nonwoven products are single-use products and function adequately for the applications for which they are designed. Products such as geosynthetic and automotive nonwovens are intended to last longer. Moreover, face mask manufacturers are using nonwoven fabric to manufacture face masks to combat or to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Nonwoven production in Europe was 2.8 million tons in 2018. The production of nonwoven face masks in the European Union is set to increase 20-fold by November 2020. Moreover, in June 2020, a nonwovens manufacturer developed a new nonwoven material for face masks.

The newly developed material has passed European Standard Type II requirements in terms of filtration efficiency and pressure drop. Furthermore, in August 2020, the company planned to upgrade and restart one of its existing production lines in Italy to meet the growing demand for sustainable nonwovens. Nonwoven fabric ranks third in the manufacture of textile surface materials after woven and knitted fabrics. Moreover, it has many advantages over both knitted and woven fabric. It is relatively cheaper to manufacture, can be produced with considerable variations in mass, stiffness, elasticity, elasticity, voluminosity, and thickness, and can be designed with specifically targeted properties.