Acrylic Fiber Market - Forecasts from 2024 to 2029

The acrylic fiber market is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.64% for the forecast period from 2024 to 2029.
Acrylic fibers are a unique material with an application in apparel, home furnishing, and industrial end-users. It is made of a synthetic polymer called acrylonitrile. These chemicals are derived from petroleum and other fossil fuel-based chemicals. Acrylic fiber is mostly needed in an application where heat retention is required. The properties of acrylic fiber, such as water resistance, shape retention, and resistivity, make it desirable for multiple applications in apparel, furnishings, upholstery, and carpeting, among others. Different types of acrylic fabric include spun yarn, filament yarn, and textured yarn.

Acrylic fibers have properties related to wool and have replaced wool in many markets, such as blankets, carpets, and sweaters. Acrylic fiber exhibits properties such as resistance to solvents and sunlight, resistance to creasing, chemical resistivity, and quick drying. The growing demand for textiles, household furnishing, and other related products is driving the market for acrylic fiber.

• India's textiles and apparel industry gives 2.3% of the GDP. Additionally, it has a share of 12% of export earnings and 13% of industrial production. Indian textile industry would contribute 2.3% to approximately 5% by the end of this decade. This expansive growth in the textile industry would boost the acrylic fiber market.
• Acrylic fiber is an extremely recyclable material. Following this, the European Union has a sustainable and circular textiles policy. According to the European Union, 5 million tonnes of clothing are discarded annually in the region. Accordingly, it is estimated that 20 to 35 jobs would be created for every 1000 tonnes of textiles for re-use.

ACRYLIC FIBER MARKET DRIVERS:

Increasing use in the apparel industry

There has been a wide variety of applications for acrylic fiber. Such as knitwear, hand-knitting yarns, sportswear, and working uniforms, among others. Knitwear is made from acrylic fiber for knitted inner or outerwear items. For the customizable use of the fiber, hand-knitting yarns are used for soft touch and bright colors, driven by the changing style through social media influence. Acrylic fiber provides comfort, stability, and durability for sportswear, making it a desirable material in different sports. Working uniforms are needed for offices, colleges, or schools. This fiber also provides fashionable and formal looks for individuals.

Moreover, using recycled acrylic material is a growing trend in the industry. The use of recycled material decreases the company’s carbon footprint and provides more innovative and sustainable applications. Aditya Birla Yarn offers Regel material made of recycled content up to 75%. This is used to make various clothing such as sweaters, innerwear, hoodies, etc. The easy coloring property of the acrylic material makes it viable for applications in the textile industry.

Demand for household furnishing

Acrylic fiber is a material with major advantages, such as its resistance to chemicals and water, making it a better option for outdoor applications such as awnings and furniture. These fabrics are also highly resistant to stains, mildew, and insects, thus making them best used for curtains, carpets, and other home furnishing applications. With growing urbanization worldwide, the demand for household items will also increase.

According to the United Nations, around 57% of the world's population in 2022 will be living in urban cities. This growing trend shows the increasing city population in the coming years. According to the estimates, 6.60 billion people live in urban areas. The growth of the city population will lead to the demand for acrylic fiber for different industries, including textiles and automobiles.

Acrylic fabric is the major advantage for upholstery purposes because of its durability, resistance to staining, multiple color options, and scratch resistance. It is also easy to maintain and clean, ideal for furniture items such as sofas, chairs, cushions, and curtains.

Rising demand from the online market

The growing online market has created space for various products, including fashionable apparel. The online apparel industry’s expansion is carried by trending dresses, promotion by influencers, and multi-cultural dresses easily available in online stores. Additionally, acrylic fibers are now used in many components, tools, and equipment for their resistivity and glossy surface looks. Synthetic fiber acrylic gives more color varieties and designs.

Moreover, online shopping sites give a wide variety of options for home decor, and home furnishing, like curtains, tablecloths, kitchen clothes, etc. These products are not only on sites like Amazon, Meesho, Etsy, etc. It is available in different colors and varieties. The growing demand from online shopping sites, increasing internet penetration, and the use of more electronic equipment have created a broader demand for different synthetic fiber products like acrylic fiber. Further, in the United States, e-commerce sale was 15.28% of the total retail sales in 2023, giving importance to the growing e-commerce market in the country. With the growing virtual and augmented reality applications, easy payment systems and better logistics are shaping the market's future.

ACRYLIC FIBER MARKET GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLOOK

Asia Pacific region to dominate the acrylic fiber market during the forecast period.

China, Japan, India, and South Korea are major economies in the Asia Pacific and the world. They are part of the G20 group. Other ASEAN countries are also the fastest-growing economies in the world. This includes countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, etc. The growing disposable income in these economies plays a major role in the demand for acrylic fiber materials. The growing application of acrylic fiber is a major factor for the expanding market. Acrylic fibers are used in textiles, home furnishing, and industrial end uses. The growing application is mainly from the automobile sector, where it is in demand due to its appearance (gloss, build), weather resistance, adhesion, transparency, hardness, heat resistance, chemical resistance, water resistance, and workability.

India, in FY23, produced 25.9 million automobile vehicles. India is a major market player in automobiles as both a consumer and producer. Additionally, China was the largest consumer of electric vehicles in 2023. This makes the Asia Pacific region a major global market for automobiles. The growing industrialization will increase the demand for acrylic fiber in the region.

Acrylic fiber market restraints:

• The easy availability of acrylic fiber is one of the biggest challenges for the market. Materials such as wool are used to produce sweaters, knits, hosiery, coats, activewear, and blankets, among other things. Nylon is another prominent substitute for home furnishing and industrial end uses. These substitutes are easily available in the market, making the choices for the different applications very competitive.
• Additionally, the use of acrylic fabrics is one of the major contributors to microplastics in the marine environment, making it a difficult choice for environmentally responsive industrial applications.

Acrylic fiber market Key Developments:

• In April 2024, Archroma developed an innovative formaldehyde and PFAS-free durable hydrophobic acrylic copolymer. The polymer produced has low water absorption and tightness for all conditions. Named APPRETAN® FFX1540 liq, it provides hydrophobicity for bonded nonwovens and coated technical fabrics. The manufacturing provides a low carbon footprint and sustainability. It can be used for finishing glass fiber materials. Further, the material has high mechanical properties and excellent wet strength. Archroma is a Swiss global leader in specialty chemicals focused on sustainable solutions and provides a range of APPRETAN Formaldehyde-Free portfolio. APPRETAN FFX1540 liq can be used in various industries, such as home textiles, technical fabrics, performance textiles, and food packaging.
• In October 2023, The Mitsubishi Chemical Group announced a collaboration with Honda Motor Co. Ltd. for developing PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate, hereinafter referred to as "acrylic resin") material for automotive body parts. This new acrylic material can be used in the doors, hoods, fenders, and other automotive body parts. The material is used with rubber particles to improve the impact required for automobile bodies. This material also helps reduce carbon emissions as further painting is not required in the body of the automobiles. Furthermore, this acrylic resin is suitable for recycling. The major advantages of using acrylic resins are, that it is highly transparent and can be mixed with various colors, allowing manufacturers to create glossy surfaces by adding colorants.
• In February 2023, Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation established Japan’s First Acrylic Resin Collection Scheme with the collaboration of Tokio Marine & Nichido and ABT. This testing center aims to verify a scheme for collected acrylic resins from end-of-life vehicles, to commercialize molecular recycling operations for acrylic resin together. TMNF would be collecting end-of-life vehicles with the payment of insurance claims, ABT was commissioned by TMNF to dismantle and properly dispose of end-of-life vehicles, including reuse and recycling, and Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation, a leading acrylic resin manufacturer, was allocated work for developing a full-fledged business to molecularly recycle and reuse of the collected acrylic resins, in addition to manufacturing acrylic resin.

The acrylic fiber market is segmented and analyzed as follows:

By Form

• Staple
• Filament

By Blending

• Wool
• Cotton
• Others

By Application

• Apparel
• Household Furnishing
• Industrial
• Other Applications

By Geography

• North America
• USA
• Canada
• Mexico
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Rest of South America
• Europe
• United Kingdom
• Germany
• France
• Italy
• Spain
• Rest of Europe
• Middle East and Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE
• Rest of the Middle East and Africa
• Asia Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• Indonesia
• Rest of Asia-Pacific