Recent research on biodegradable nonwovens

Fiber source World production (10 tonnes) Viable growing regions 

Just about everyone can recognize cotton as a durable, breathable and soft fiber. Perhaps no one recognizes the benefits of cotton as well as Cotton Incorporated, a Cary, NC (USA)-based non-profit organization dedicated to its advancement. Its report, Cotton for Nonwovens A Technical Guide [17, 18], sheds light on how powerful the name cotton has become. In 2000, the 

12 Relative cost of fibers from different sources (cotton [16], 

US apparel and home fabrics markets purchased the equivalent of 15.1 million bales of cotton, while the global nonwovens market used the equivalent of 14.7 million bales of fibers between 1996 and 2000 global consumption of bleached cotton fiber rose by 6%. Cotton s current share of the nonwovens market is 7.8% globally and 2.8% in North America, and in the major consumer markets of North America, Western Europe and Japan, growth of cotton usage in nonwovens is projected at 3-6% per year for the next few years. 

Although cotton in its pure, untouched state is widely used and accepted, cotton can also have special properties applied to it, thereby paving a way for new uses and markets. One of these properties relates to bleaching. Bamhardt Manufacturing Company, Charlotte, NC (USA), produces bleached cotton fibers for carded web products, chemically bonded fabrics, and spunlaced and needled fabrics, with approximately 95% of the company s bleached fibers targeting nonwovens, due to increasing interest of bleached fibers. 

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