By 1998, the consumption of non-woven fabrics in the world had reached 2.4 million tons. In 1970, its consumption was only 400000 tons, while in 2007, its consumption is expected to reach 4 million tons. Non woven fabric manufacturers are mainly concentrated in the United States (accounting for 41% of the world), Western Europe accounts for 30%, Japan accounts for 8%, and China's output accounts for only 3.5% of the world, but its consumption is 17.5% of the world. In 2018, China's non-woven fabric output was 5.9322 million tons, accounting for 37.91% of the global total, ranking first in global energy production.
Man made fibers still dominate the production of non-woven fabrics, and this situation will not change greatly until 2007. Worldwide, 63% of the fibers used in the production of non-woven fabrics are polypropylene, 23% are polyester, 8% are viscose, 2% are acrylic fiber, 1.5% are polyamide, and the remaining 3% are other fibers.
The application of non-woven fabrics in sanitary absorbent materials, medicine, vehicles and shoe-making textile materials has increased significantly.