Short answer first: choose PP spunbond when you need a lightweight, soft, cost-effective fabric for bags, medical disposables, packaging or agriculture. Choose PET polyester spunbond when the fabric faces sustained heat above 100°C, heavy filtration loading, or needs dimensional stability — automotive interiors, roofing, geotextiles. Everything else — width, colour, MOQ logistics — works the same for both. We produce both at Huayue: 7 PP lines covering 15-200 gsm and 4 PET lines covering 9-240 gsm, both up to 3.2 m wide, so we have no incentive to push one polymer — here is the honest comparison.
Heat Resistance
PP tops out around 90-100°C continuous; PET runs 160-180°C routinely, higher in short peaks.
Hand-Feel
PP is softer with better drape; PET is firmer and stronger at the same GSM.
Moisture Behaviour
PP is naturally water-repellent; PET absorbs a little moisture and dries fast.
Cost per Ton
PP is lower; PET costs more in polymer and processing.
1. Choose PP Spunbond When…
Your product is soft, disposable or cost-sensitive and lives at room temperature: shopping and gift bags (30-80 gsm PP is the global default for non woven bags — it prints well, folds flat and hits the unit economics; printing options on the custom non woven bag page); medical and hygiene disposables (caps, masks, gowns, drapes — PP's natural hydrophobicity and skin-friendly softness own this category); furniture and mattress lining (50-80 gsm, chosen for opacity and price per square metre — the one caveat: if your process bonds the lining at high temperature, check that temperature first, because that is the single scenario that flips this choice to PET); agricultural covers, weed fabric and nursery bags (60-200 gsm with a UV masterbatch — see the weed control fabric and nursery grow bag pages).
2. Choose PET Spunbond When…
Your product faces heat, load or precision over time: hot-air and liquid filtration (continuous temperatures above 100°C rule PP out immediately — PET filter media keep strength where PP softens); automotive interiors (cabin materials see heat cycles and strict dimensional tolerances, which is why PET is specified here); roofing and waterproofing membranes (bitumen contact plus rooftop summer temperatures demand PET); geotextiles and industrial reinforcement (higher tensile at the same GSM buys margin in separation and reinforcement layers); and anything bonded or laminated at high temperature downstream. The full spec sheet, including the 9-240 gsm range and GRS-certified rPET options, is on the PET polyester roll page.
3. The Case That Trips Buyers Up: When Both Would Work
Plenty of applications sit in the overlap — furniture lining, some packaging, general industrial use. When both polymers pass the spec, decide on two lines. First, total cost: PP is cheaper per ton at comparable GSM, so price-driven bulk programs default to PP. Second, recycled-content requirements: if your brand needs verified recycled content for EU/US compliance, rPET from post-consumer bottles has the deepest supply chain and audit trail — how GRS transaction certificates work explains the mechanics. Finally, sample both at your GSM: the hand-feel difference that never shows on a datasheet sometimes decides the product — a stiff lining in a premium sofa is a customer complaint no spec sheet predicted. Free A4 swatches of both polymers are the cheapest insurance in this decision.
Q1: How can I tell PP and PET nonwoven apart quickly?
The burn test is fastest: PP melts and drips with light smoke and a paraffin smell, ash crumbles; PET burns with dark smoke, shrinks into a hard residue and smells acrid. In purchasing, the practical route is a written material declaration in the contract.
Q2: How much stronger is PET at the same GSM?
Typically 20-40% higher depending on GSM and orientation, and the gap widens after heat exposure — PP loses strength noticeably near its softening point while PET barely drops. That is the fundamental reason hot applications have no PP option.
