Spandex--'a voyage of discovery'.(spandex scrutiny)

Urethanes Technology, April, 2008 by Hart, David

Spandex (also known as elastane) is a relatively small fibres business, currently operating at around 340 kilotonnes (kt) per year. Most of this product goes into apparel, but spandex is also appearing in upholstery fabrics, diapers, shoes, handbags and exotic applications such as nail polish.

In its World Synthetic Fibres Report (the 'Red Book'), PCI Fibres estimates global all--fibres demand at 74 million tonnes in 2008. Spandex is therefore a very minor player in the fibres industry when considered in simple volume terms. However, we note that spandex is normally used in concentrations of around 3 percent in finished fabric up to a maximum of around 30 percent in some swimwear fabrics--a global average of around 6 percent. This ratio implies that spandex is...

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