6 Pros & Cons when Buying Nonwovens from China!

We have learned a thing or two over the years of producing and developing nonwoven industry textiles. Especially we have understood why our clients are going directly to us as a wholesaler, developer and production specialist instead of turning to a local supplier in China. But also why some potential clients actually choose to turn directly to China.

1. Volume requirements from China are often higher

When buying directly from China, you are often required to buy large volumes. We, as a wholesaler can buy those volumes and then repackage them on smaller rolls that fits the need of our clients.

International consumer brands with extremely high volumes where nonwoven is a key component will benefit from buying directly from China instead of going to a wholesaler – such as baby wipe or diaper brands.

It's also a faster and more efficient process to order samples from a regional wholesaler than from China.

2.Trial and error takes time and effort

China is definitely the go-to place for many types of nonwoven textiles. And many Chinese suppliers hold a very high quality standard. But identifying who those are, well, that might take some time consuming trial and error. It normally takes time and effort to find a supplier that holds the consistent quality you are looking for within the production deadlines you need.

A wholesaler has the capacity and motivation to invest that time and effort for a long term relationship with a producer.

3. Material knowledge is a must

Nonwoven is normally only one of many components in producing an end-product. It makes it impossible for you to be a specialist in nonwoven. Insufficient knowledge of the material and the production process of nonwoven might make it more difficult to make a specification that covers all your needs.

A wholesaler has a deep understanding of all the different types of nonwoven, and the experience to ask relevant questions to understand your needs. Those questions will help identify if there already is an off-the-shelf nonwoven on the market or if you need to develop it.

And in order to develop a new nonwoven material with specific properties, experience and knowledge will cut time substantially.

4.Delivery times from China are longer

When buying directly from China, the delivery time is often 8 weeks or more.

A wholesaler often has a stock of products for immediate or regular delivery, which eliminates the need for you to keep your own stock.

5.Getting the right size of the rolls or sheets

To speed up and make the production efficient, many of our clients within the production industry want to have the nonwoven delivered in sheets or rolls that fits directly into their production process so that they themselves don’t need to spend time and resources on converting big rolls of nonwoven.

When ordering for directly from China, you are not only required to buy large volumes, you normally can’t get the nonwoven on rolls or sheets sized or tailored specifically to your needs.

6. A network or one-stop-shop will cut time

If you have very precise requirements on your nonwoven or if you are looking for specific properties of the material, it’s an asset to be able to talk to different producers within or outside China. The good thing is that in China there are often hub-cities filled with the same type of producers. But sometimes, you need to travel quite extensively around the country in order to meet and talk to many different Chinese local producers.

A manufacturer is also limited by their own machines, meaning that they offer a limited range of material to choose from – while a wholesaler with a wide range from several manufacturers is more neutral and offers better potential to find that specific nonwoven your might be looking for.

There are agents that can help you identify production sites in China, but they more rarely than often have the in-depth nonwoven expertise.

And if you need several different nonwoven materials with different properties, you might need to use different producers, making the administration complex and the risk higher.

A wholesaler often have and extensive network of producers within and outside China, both for developing new nonwoven materials or to identify which material best fits your need.

Go directly to China if you have:

• Very large volumes of a product where nonwoven is s a key component
• The in-depth material knowledge to make a material specification
• The capacity and time to make trial and errors in order to identify, set up and maintain a long term relationship with a production site
• The capacity to stock up large volumes of on nonwoven

Go to a wholesaler if you:

• Don’t have extremely large volumes or if nonwoven isn’t the main material of your product
• Are looking for a material with very specific properties or several nonwoven materials where a network or production sites would be beneficial.
• Don’t have the material knowledge and need help identifying or developing a material with properties that you need.
• Don’t have the capacity to stock large volumes
• Have requirements on quick or regular material deliveries to your production with less delivery risks.
• Want to speed up the production by getting the nonwoven on rolls or in sheets fitted directly to your production process.

Interested in what we do or to order nonwoven samples? Visit www.nonwoven.se/en/