#Nonwovens / Technical Textiles

2021-05-06

Suominen expands offering of sustainable nonwovens

Global environmental concerns – such as diminishing resources, climate change and marine plastic pollution – are creating new market expectations and demand for sustainable products, including nonwovens. To meet this market demand, Suominen is continuously developing innovative products that combine sustainability, quality and performance.

Awareness of environmental concerns among consumers has been rising for some time already. Today, many consumers consider sustainability important to them and it has changed consumption behavior. The change has become in favor of brands that value and practice sustainability.

Global challenges and changing consumer behavior also drive us at Suominen to constantly develop new and innovative sustainable solutions that have a smaller environmental impact. The current Sustainable Product Portfolio consists of products made of renewable, recycled, and/or plastic-free raw materials as well as compostable and totally dispersible nonwovens. This portfolio offers products of uncompromised quality for every category and end-use.

Suominen are taking into consideration the entire supply chain when aiming to decrease the environmental impacts of their products. This is done by using raw materials with lower environmental impacts and by optimizing the own processes and transportation distances.

“As part of this work, we calculate the carbon footprint of our nonwovens – including not only the emissions from own production processes but also the impacts caused by the production of the raw materials and their logistics,” says Noora Rantanen, Sustainability and Marketing Manager.

Unique capabilities and technology enable expansion of the sustainable offering

Suominen's target is to increase sales of sustainable products by 50% by 2025, compared to the base year 2019, and to launch at least ten sustainable products per year. They have two strong capabilities that – together with their advanced production technologies – support them in reaching the target.

Firstly, Suominen is a pioneer in sustainable nonwovens. They introduced the sustainable BIOLACE® product family back in 2007 and invented the groundbreaking wetlaid spunlace category for flushable dispersible nonwovens called HYDRASPUN® with first product versions dating back to 1997.

“Our customer insight together with our market & technology leadership provides the basis for creating sustainable products and product families,” says Lynda Kelly, SVP, Americas & Business Development.

Secondly, they have a strong and very professional research and development organization with excellent know-how in sustainable fibers and they are constantly researching new potential fibers in their New Fiber Center. The research and development work focuses specifically on sustainability and customization of the products. In addition, the pilot lines situated at their Nakkila and Windsor Locks production plants support their R&D efforts as well as accelerate speed to market.

These two capabilities are supported by the production technologies of the production units – all eight of the plants are capable of using sustainable raw materials.

“Our fiber based technology platform, strong research and development team and our continuous work in new and innovative fibers means we are able to offer tailor-made solutions for customers’ different sustainability needs,” says Lynda Kelly, SVP, Americas & Business Development.

Suominen reports decline in sales and earnings – Cost savings program and leadership change to drive recovery

Finnish nonwovens manufacturer Suominen Corporation has reported a noticeable drop in both revenue and profitability for the first half of 2025, reflecting a challenging global trade environment, particularly the impact of recent U.S. tariffs, as well as persistently high energy and raw material costs.

Highlights from Suominen’s successful Innovating in Sustainability Seminar in Italy

Suominen hosted its Innovating in Sustainability Seminar in Arona, Italy, on March 19–20, 2025. The event brought together around 50 professionals from across the nonwovens value chain, creating a vibrant platform for in-depth discussions, knowledge sharing, and valuable networking. The seminar was met with overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants.

ANDRITZ sets focus on textile recycling and durable nonwoven production technologies at ITMA Asia 2025

International technology Group ANDRITZ will be presenting its innovative nonwovens production and textile solutions at ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025 in Singapore, from October 28 to 31, 2025 (Hall 2, D106). ANDRITZ will showcase its MMCF production plants, textile sorting and recycling, bast fiber processing, needlepunch, airlay, and life-cycle service technologies, with a focus on sustainable solutions. Discover how these innovations can grow your business opportunities and support a greener future.

OUTLOOK™ 2025: Charting a sustainable and innovative future for the Nonwovens Industry

EDANA concluded its flagship event, OUTLOOK™ 2025, last week, marking it as a major success and addressing the biggest questions facing the industry. The three-day conference highlighted the urgent need for a unified approach to sustainability, regulation, and innovation in the absorbent hygiene and wipes sectors.

Global Nonwovens Alliance unveils Inaugural Board, advancing collaboration and growth worldwide

The Global Nonwovens Alliance (GNA), a tax-exempt federation jointly founded by INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, and EDANA, the Voice of Nonwovens, announces the appointment of its founding Board of Directors. This group of leaders represents some of the most influential executives across the nonwovens value chain and reflects GNA’s mission to foster global collaboration, innovation, and growth in the industry.

Compact, powerful, cost-efficient – KARL MAYER launches its HKS 2-SE TWO

KARL MAYER is launching a new two-bar tricot machine for the elastic sector at ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025. This newcomer is called HKS 2-SE TWO, stands for double customer benefits, and offers even more advantages than the predecessor model. With this innovation, the leading textile machinery company is once again asserting its top position in the market.

VDMA members at ITMA ASIA + CITME in Singapore

With 69 exhibiting member companies, ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025 is once again marked by a strong presence of VDMA companies. Altogether 82 companies from Germany will exhibit at the show, covering about 3,500 square meters of exhibition space, topped only by China and Italy. VDMA initiated a German Pavilion with two group stands (spinning in hall 4 and finishing in hall 7) with a total of 30 exhibitors.

Marzoli unveals its new textile ecosystem at ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025 at Singapore

With the claim “Designed to Impact”, Marzoli showcases its evolution into a complete engineering company for the textile industry. By combining advanced machinery, digital intelligence, science of materials and innovative services, the company enables textile manufacturers unlock new business opportunities, and accelerate their path to innovation and differentiation.