Features

Spunlace Continues Its Hot Streak

Wipes continues to offer growth as manufacturers look to diversify into other markets.

Karen McIntyre, editor03.09.15

For many years, the spunlace market has practically been synonymous with wipes. Ebbs and flows in this technology practically mirror that of wipes. When wipes is growing, spunlace is expanding and when wipes growth is flat so is investment in the nonwovens technology.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, as disposable wipes applications came to prominence on store shelves, investment in spunlace was rampant as new lines popped up across North America, Europe and, eventually, less developed regions. Fast forward a few years, and as wipes proliferation slowed, so did the rate of new investment, but in recent years new lines have been popping up, proving this market is still strong.

This strength is largely due to wipes demand, which manufacturers say has not retreated. Consumers count wipes in many categories as must-haves in their daily lives. From tried and true baby wipes to floor cleaning mops like Swiffer and makeup removal or facial cleansing wipes, these products are here to stay, and spunlace nonwovens manufacturers continue depend on this market. According to industry statistics, the market is growing steadily at 5-6% per year and, in recent years