At the 1st Asia Disposable Hygiene and Personal Care Products Summit in Shanghai, the astonishing growth of China’s spunmelt nonwovens industry in just 20 years was underlined.
There was also evidence presented – and hotly contested during discussions – that China is now surging ahead in some areas of both sustainable development and intellectual property rights, contrary to common perceptions in the West.
In 1995 China’s GDP per capita was just US$1,500 and has now rocketed to around $10,000, and still growing. In 1985 the penetration of femcare products was around 30% and has consequently risen to above 90%. Diapers were virtually unheard of in China in 1995 but are now approaching the 50% penetration mark.
In parallel, Chinese spunmelt production has climbed from virtually zero in 1995 to approaching two million tons today.
