In the developed markets of Europe, North America and East Asia, the textile producers that have survived the past 50 years or so have largely moved out of commodity goods into technical products, which are finding ever more end-uses as they replace conventional fabrics – and even other non-fiber materials, such as metal.
Meanwhile, the growing economies of the industrializing developing world, such as China, India, Brazil and Indonesia, offer a huge potential market for technical textile producers, particularly in the construction, transport, medical and agricultural sectors, where demand continues to grow apace.