Company News and Industry Insight

Nonwoven Fabric Weight – Milmar
The higher GSM (grams per square metre), the better? Not necessarily — it always depends on the purpose of your fabric. Let’s have a closer look at the weight of nonwoven fabrics for Home & Garden and of nonwovens used as packaging materials or for industrial processing.

 

In most European countries, fabric weight is measured in grams per square metre (g/m2). Simply put, it indicates the density of the fabric — how dense individual fibres are within the fabric. In English-speaking countries, fabric weight is often expressed in ounces per yard squared  (oz/yd2).

 

The finest fabrics (almost spider-web thin) weigh 12 g/m2, and the thickest ones up to 150 g/m2.

 

Nonwoven fabrics of 30 g/m2 and more are used for industrial processing. “Most often, we process spunbonds weighing 30, 45, 50, 70 or 100 g/m2. Should our client require a different GSM, we get it for them,” explains Milan Polouček, the Managing Director of Milmar.

 

Lighter nonwovens (weighing fewer g/m²) are less costly compared to thicker fabrics. The price per kilo is the same for both; however, you get more fabric per kilo when purchasing light nonwovens.

 

 


 

GSM of Nonwovens for Home and Garden

 

Nonwovens made with the unique spunbond method are often used to cover garden plants. White fabrics of 17 or 19 g/m2 weight  are utilised in the growing season to protect plants from aphids and other pests or from late frosts.

 

Thicker nonwovens of 30 g/m2 weight  provide plant frost protection. They’re usually beige, while thinner nonwoven covers are white.

 

Another type of nonwovens is landscape fabric for strawberry fields, usually of 45, 50 or 70 g/m2 in weight.

 

 


 

 

GSM of Nonwoven Packaging

 

Many companies use nonwovens or nonwoven bags for packaging. “The most suitable fabric for packaging weighs 30, 40 or 50 g/m2, it is pliable and fits products of various sizes and shapes. That said, the weight of the product needs to be considered. If it is too heavy, it is better to use a fabric with a higher GSM, adds Milan Polouček.

 

Nonwovens are also used as padding between individual products in bulk packaging; nonwoven liners are made from 30 g/m2 fabric. Nevertheless, we recommend choosing higher GSM liners for heavy products.

 

 


 

GSM of Nonwoven Fabrics Used in Manufacturing

 

Nonwovens are used in various industries, including upholstery mainly for sofas and armchairs production. Nonwovens make a perfect foam seat cover — a more heavyweight piece of fabric is necessary (usually of 100 g/m2 weight).

 

Nonwovens are also popular in the health industry for various types of protective equipment. For example, fabric weight for face masks ranges between 25–30 g/m2.

 

 


 

 

Factors Affecting Weight of Nonwovens

 

Fabric weight (or density) affects properties of nonwovens, such as their tensile strength, breaking point, tear resistance, and air and water permeability. Here’s how it works.

 

Tensile Strength

This indicates the strength of the fabric. Tensile strength test in a lab looks like this: a strip of fabric is clamped in a tearing machine to measure the force that must be exerted before the fabric strip breaks.

 

Breaking Point

A strip of nonwoven fabric is loaded with a weight to measure how much the fabric stretches before it breaks. The higher the value, the more elastic the fabric.

 

Tear Resistance

Nonwoven fabric is torn in the middle (length-wise) and gets tested to determine how much force must be applied to widen the tear. The higher the value, the higher the tear resistance.

 

Here’s how individual values change with a different GSM.

 

  Weight Tensile Strength Breaking Point Tear Resistance
Method   EDANA 20.2-89 EDANA 20.2-89 EDANA 70.4-99
Unit g/m2 N/5 cm % N
Direction   MD CD MD CD MD CD
  16 26 24 53 58 17 18
  17 26 24 53 58 17 18
  19 35 24 55 58 20 20
  23 40 28 55 58 25 28
  30 45 40 75 80 35 35
  35 53 50 80 87 43 45
  40 65 60 90 95 50 55
  45 75 70 92 97 56 61
  50 90 85 95 100 65 70
  60 110 105 100 110 75 80
  70 120 115 105 110 85 90
  80 135 130 100 110 93 98
  90 155 150 95 100 103 105
  100 165 155 85 95 108 113
  110 175 160 80 90 115 120
  120 190 180 80 90 125 130
  130 195 190 75 90 130 135
  140 200 195 70 85 135 140
  150 205 200 50 70 140 145

 

Download our datasheet for spunbond nonwoven fabrics

 


 

Choosing Your Perfect Nonwoven. What Else to Consider?

 

In addition to the appropriate weight, consider other properties of nonwovens, such as:

  • UV protection,
  • antistatic treatment,
  • anti-scratch protection,
  • hydrophilic treatment (for better absorbing properties).

 

At Milmar, we are happy to help you choose the best nonwoven. We recommend the suitable weight of the fabric and even customise our products for you.

 

Get in touch and tell us what you’re looking for.

 

A custom-made solution just for you

Get in touch! Regardless of what you need our products for, we’ll be happy to discuss your needs and find the best solution for you.

I'M Interested

We use cookies

To enhance your browsing experience on our website (Cookie consent)

To ensure the most convenient use of the website, we need your consent to the processing of cookies. You can give us your consent by clicking on the "Allow all" button.