A spunbond nonwoven roll is a continuous fabric made straight from polymer pellets — melted, spun into filaments, laid into a web and thermally bonded, with no yarn and no weaving. Lighter and cheaper than woven fabric at volume, which is why it dominates shopping bags, medical disposables, furniture lining and agricultural covers. This guide covers the six specifications that move your price, the mistakes that cost buyers money, and how to verify a Chinese factory before a deposit. Huayue runs 11 lines in Yangzhou — 7 PP and 4 PET — producing 15-200 gsm PP and 9-240 gsm PET up to 3.2 m wide, and what follows is what our export team actually says on a first call.
1. What Spunbond Nonwoven Actually Is
The whole process runs in one line: pellets melt at 180-230°C, extrude into filaments, get laid onto a moving web by high-speed air, then bond — usually by hot calendering — without yarn, weaving or knitting. Skip those two stages and the fabric costs less per square metre than wovens at volume, with GSM dialable from 9 to 240 depending on polymer. Two polymer families cover almost every application: PP spunbond is lightweight, soft and cheap — the default for bags, hygiene, packaging, furniture lining and agriculture. PET spunbond brings heat resistance and dimensional stability — filtration, geotextiles, automotive interiors, roofing, and anything running above 100°C. If you remember one line: PP for soft and cheap, PET for hot and strong. Our PP vs PET nonwoven comparison goes deeper.
2. The Six Specs That Decide Your Price
GSM
The biggest price driver — a 100 gsm roll holds twice the polymer of a 50 gsm one. Choose by application, not by a bare number.
Width & Slitting
Master rolls to 3.2 m; slitting waste is where hidden margin leaks. Add 2-5 cm trim to your finished width first.
Roll Weight & Core
Traded by weight, not metres; cores come in 1.5", 2" and 3" — they must match your unwinder.
Colour & Dope Dyeing
Masterbatch goes into the melt, so colour lives inside the fibre: abrasion-proof, no migration, repeat orders match. Pantone matched to ΔE ≤ 1.5.
Recycled Content
GRS recycled PP and rPET with a per-batch transaction certificate, traceable back to the recyclate supplier.
Packing & Loading
A 20GP takes roughly 4-6 tons, a 40HQ 13-16.5 tons, varying with GSM and roll build.
3. Choosing GSM: Load and Environment, Not Guesswork
GSM sets strength, opacity and hand-feel, and it is the single biggest price driver, because a 100 gsm roll contains twice the polymer of a 50 gsm one. Rules of thumb: 15-25 gsm for medical caps, masks and hygiene lining; 30-50 gsm for shopping bags, table covers and interlining; 50-80 gsm for sofa and mattress lining; 60-200 gsm with UV for weed fabric and frost covers; 100-200 gsm for heavy packaging and industrial reinforcement. A bag carrying 10 kg and a gift bag carrying nothing may both be "80 gsm" to a buyer, but they need different tensile specs — so tell the factory the application and the load, not just a number. The full application table is on the PP spunbond roll page.
4. Width and Slitting: Where the Hidden Cost Lives
Standard lines produce webs from 1.6 m to 3.2 m; anything narrower is slit from a master roll — and slitting waste is where margin leaks. With a 60 cm finished part, a 160 cm roll gives two clean cuts plus a waste strip, while a 220 cm roll gives three cuts plus a wider strip. Add 2-5 cm trim allowance to your finished width, then ask the factory which master width minimises waste. Narrow slitting goes down to 10 mm for things like mask ear-loop material, and if you buy narrow rolls, confirm whether the price is per slit roll or per metre of master web — they are not the same thing.
5. MOQ, Container Loading and How Factories Quote
Factory MOQs typically run from half a ton for stock specs to one ton per colour for custom dope-dyed fabric. Below that, either the price rises sharply or the factory declines — masterbatch changeovers and line cleaning are real costs. Container economics matter more than most buyers expect: a 20GP takes roughly 4-6 tons of rolled nonwoven, a 40HQ around 13-16.5 tons. If your volume lands just under a full container, ask about mixed loading — PP rolls, PET rolls and converted goods like bags or slippers can often share one container from a vertically integrated factory, cutting your freight per ton. The FOB price and MOQ walkthrough shows the arithmetic on a real order.
6. How to Verify a Chinese Factory Before a Deposit
Four checks, minutes each, filtering out most trading-company risk. One: ask for the scope certificate, not the logo — factories display ISO 9001 and GRS badges, but only the certificate's scope page proves that this factory at this address is covered; Huayue's Yangzhou plant holds ISO 9001, GRS and BSCI and we send certificate files on request. Two: for recycled orders, ask for a per-batch transaction certificate — if a "GRS supplier" cannot produce one for your specific batch, the claim is unverifiable. Three: ask for a live video of the line running your spec — a real factory can film GSM monitoring within a day, while a middleman has to schedule around someone else's plant. Four: order the A4 swatch first — serious factories send free swatches, custom sampling takes 5-7 days, and no datasheet replaces your own hands when hand-feel matters.
7. Lead Times, Trade Terms and Payment
Standard terms across export-capable factories, ours included: stock specs dispatch in 3-5 days, custom production 10-15 days, with 3-5 days added at peak season — typically ahead of Q4 and Chinese New Year — confirmed at order placement. Trade terms: FOB gives you freight control, CIF lands it at your port, DDP is delivered duty paid and common for first orders into the EU and US. Payment: 30% deposit by T/T with the balance before shipping for new relationships; L/C opens up after an order or two. On customs, nonwoven classifies under HS 5603 with subheads 5603.11-5603.14 set by GSM band — the GSM you order determines your duty, so check the HS code breakdown before you clear.
Q1: What is the MOQ for non woven rolls?
Stock specs start around half a ton, custom colours from one ton per colour, and special specs are negotiable. Mixed-container loading lowers the effective threshold per SKU.
Q2: How do I know which GSM I need?
Match GSM to load and environment: 15-25 gsm for hygiene lining, 30-50 for bags, 50-80 for furniture lining, 100-200 for industrial use, plus a UV stabiliser for anything outdoors. Give the factory the application and a serious one will recommend a band, with free swatches to confirm.
Q3: PP or PET — which should I order?
Order PP for lightweight, soft, cost-sensitive products — bags, medical, packaging, agriculture. Order PET when the fabric faces heat, filtration loading or tight dimensional tolerances — automotive, roofing, geotextiles. Above 100°C continuous service, PET is the only correct answer.
