Natural and man-made are the two main categories of fibers used for fashion products – details of the most widely-used ones are specified in the figure.

The global demand for fibers has continued increasing rapidly, and polyester occupies a dominant role after surpassing the demand for cotton in 2002. According to the England-based PCI Fibers’ forecast1, polyester will continue to keep its dominance in the next ten years. Cotton is in a stable demand situation with slight growth. Demand for cellulosic fiber, such as viscose, which was third in fiber demand after a decline from 1980 to 2000, has been predicted to continuously grow in the near future. The major demand of cellulosic fiber is from Mainland China for spinning yarns for clothes and nonwoven end uses.

North America, including USA and Canada, is leading the final consumption of man-made fibers and cottons. The major application for man-made fibers in this region is an industrial textile product, such as carpet and rugs; while cotton has been used for clothing. Amongst all other regions, Australia is the country that consumed the most wool.

  1. http://www.textileworld.com/textile-world/fiber-world/2015/02/man-made-fibers-continue-to-grow/ [30-05-2018]