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Guided by the "dual carbon" goals and high-quality development strategy, China's nonwoven industry is undergoing profound structural changes, with the pace of transformation from scale expansion to high-end, green, and intelligent development accelerating continuously. Benefiting from policy support, technological innovation, and downstream demand expansion, the industry's production capacity layout is continuously optimized, leading enterprises are playing a prominent role, and domestic substitution is continuously advancing. China has become the core production base and consumer market of the global nonwoven industry, gradually transitioning from a "manufacturing giant" to a "manufacturing powerhouse".
Industry data shows that the scale of China's nonwoven industry continues to climb. In 2023, the national output of nonwoven fabrics reached 7.8 million tons, an increase of 21.5% compared to 2020. The market size reached 185 billion yuan, and it is expected to increase to 242 billion yuan by 2026, with an average annual compound growth rate of about 7.1%. From the perspective of industrial layout, regional clusters have distinct characteristics. The Yangtze River Delta, South China, and North China have formed differentiated development patterns. The Yangtze River Delta accounts for 42% of the national production capacity, while South China is export-oriented, accounting for 31% of total exports. Shandong has been the top producer for five consecutive years, becoming the core production area in North China due to its cost advantage. East China and South China, with abundant green electricity resources, together account for 67% of the national production capacity share.

Policy dividends continue to be released, becoming a crucial support for industry transformation. At the national level, policies such as the "Guiding Opinions on High-quality Development of Industrial Textiles" and the "Outline for the Development of the Textile Industry during the 14th Five-Year Plan" have been issued. These policies specify that by 2025, the industrial added value of enterprises above a certain size in the industrial textiles sector should increase by over 6% annually, R&D investment intensity should reach 2.5%, and the utilization rate of green fibers should reach 15%. At the local level, 23 provincial-level administrative regions have introduced special support policies, guiding social capital to exceed 42 billion yuan in total. This has facilitated the formation of characteristic industrial clusters in places such as Zhejiang, Shandong, Guangdong, and Hubei. Shandong's Weifang has established a green electricity-driven zero-carbon industrial park, Hubei's Xiantao is accelerating the upgrading of bio-based nonwoven production capacity, and Guangdong is focusing on the research and development of new energy supporting nonwoven fabrics. The synergistic effect of these policies continues to be prominent. Meanwhile, environmental protection and energy consumption regulations are tightening, with VOCs emission limits generally being tightened to 30–50mg/m³. This has compelled enterprises to increase their investment in green transformation. In 2023, 312 small and medium-sized manufacturers have exited the market due to insufficient compliance, leading to a continuous increase in industry concentration. It is expected that CR10 will exceed 45% by 2026.

Technological innovation continues to make breakthroughs, and core competitiveness is constantly enhanced. Domestic enterprises and scientific research institutions have made concerted efforts, achieving significant breakthroughs in multiple key technologies. Recently, the "graphene-polypropylene functional nonwoven fabric manufacturing key technology" jointly developed by Fangda Carbon and Lanzhou University passed provincial-level acceptance. It innovatively adopts the one-step method at room temperature to prepare graphene oxide, overcoming the compatibility issue between graphene and polypropylene. The composite nonwoven fabric produced exhibits excellent antibacterial and antiviral properties, with antibacterial rates against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, as well as antiviral activity rates against influenza A virus (H3N2), all meeting preset standards. This provides new material support for the medical protection and hygiene care fields. Ruiwen Medical continues to advance the technological upgrading of all-cotton spunlace nonwoven fabric. Its Tianmen production base has achieved an annual production capacity of 20,000 tons of all-cotton spunlace nonwoven fabric, achieving sales revenue of 550 million yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 36%. It plans to invest 50 million yuan in 2026 to promote intelligent upgrading, striving to achieve sales revenue exceeding 600 million yuan.

Green transformation and digital upgrading have become the main theme of industry development. Driven by the "dual carbon" policy, the promotion of bio-based materials has accelerated. Although biodegradable materials such as polylactic acid (PLA) currently account for less than 1%, their penetration rate is expected to increase to 4.5% by 2028. Leading enterprises such as Xinlong Holdings and Yanjiang Shares have increased the proportion of renewable energy use by building their own photovoltaic systems and purchasing green electricity. If the proportion of green electricity in the entire industry increases from the current 12% to 25% by 2026, an average annual carbon reduction of 4.2 million tons can be achieved. Digital transformation is also deepening simultaneously. In the Yangtze River Delta region, the equipment networking rate of nonwoven fabric enterprises exceeds 85%. Technologies such as AI quality inspection and flexible order platforms are widely used, and the coverage rate of digital control systems in the industry reaches 68.4%, effectively improving production efficiency and product quality stability.

The downstream demand structure continues to be optimized, with emerging sectors becoming new growth points. Medical health (32.7%) and hygiene care (29.1%) remain the core demand sectors. Meanwhile, demand in emerging sectors such as new energy vehicles and environmental protection filtration is rapidly rising. In 2023, the nonwoven fabric consumption per new energy vehicle reached 18.5 kilograms, and it is expected to exceed 22 kilograms by 2026. Global procurement behavior has shifted from being price-oriented to ESG compliance. International brand customers are mandating carbon footprint disclosure and the use of traceable renewable materials, driving domestic enterprises to accelerate alignment with international standards. PLA nonwoven fabric has obtained EU ECOCERT and US BPI certifications, successfully entering high-end overseas markets. In the first half of 2024, although China's nonwoven fabric exports faced challenges such as the EU's CBAM mechanism and US equipment export controls, leading enterprises effectively hedged trade risks by expanding production bases in Southeast Asia and Mexico and optimizing supply chain layout.

Industry insiders indicate that over the next five years, driven by policies, technology, and demand, China's nonwoven industry will continue to evolve towards higher added value, low-carbon resilience, and global collaboration. It is anticipated that by 2026, the industry's market size will surpass 240 billion yuan, with a further increase in the self-sufficiency rate of high-end products. Enterprises must persistently enhance their core technology research and development, refine their compliance systems, actively engage in the formulation of international standards, and simultaneously focus on structural growth areas such as bio-based materials and automotive functional nonwovens. By doing so, they can propel the industry towards higher-quality development and contribute China's strength to the global upgrade of the new material industry.