Technical and non-woven textiles - forecasts of the development of the world market until 2010.

Abstract

Technical and non-woven textiles make up more than a quarter of the total consumption of textiles in terms of mass. Despite slow growth since the turn of the millennium, technical textile application areas have a more positive outlook than most other fiber, textile and apparel markets. Volume growth in developing countries will average 4 to 5 % per year until 2010. Looking at the whole, some application areas will grow faster than others. Although the development forecasts are reduced compared to earlier studies, the world demand for geotextiles will grow annually by 5.3 % from 2005 to 2010, with China being the main source of consumption and production. Textiles for construction will also have an annual growth rate of 5.0 % over the same period, which will be influenced by new products and an increase in the content of textile materials in construction. In contrast, textile components for shoes, clothing, furniture, carpets and interior decoration will have an annual growth rate of less than 3 % on average for the current decade. This is a response to the relatively moderate growth in demand for clothing and household products, but also the transition of many products to non-woven textiles of lower mass.