| 1 | Polylactic Acid (PLA) | Bio-based thermoplastic polyester commonly produced from fermented plant sugars or starches such as corn, sugarcane, or cassava. | Spunbond, meltblown, spunlace, and needle-punch processes. | Tea bags, hygiene components, agricultural covers, filtration media, packaging, and disposable textiles. | Can reduce dependence on fossil-based polymers and is industrially compostable under suitable conditions. | Usually requires controlled industrial composting; degradation is slow in ordinary soil, landfill, or marine environments. Heat resistance is lower than that of many conventional polyolefins. |
| 2 | Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) | Microbially produced polyesters synthesized by microorganisms from renewable carbon sources. | Spunbond, meltblown, extrusion-based web formation, and composite nonwoven production. | Medical and hygiene products, agricultural materials, packaging liners, and selected filtration products. | Offers biodegradability in a wider range of environments than PLA, with potential for soil and marine degradation depending on formulation and conditions. | Material cost, processing stability, and large-scale availability can be limiting factors. Actual degradation depends on thickness, additives, temperature, moisture, and microbial activity. |
| 3 | Viscose Rayon | Regenerated cellulose fiber made by dissolving and regenerating cellulose, commonly sourced from wood pulp or other cellulose feedstocks. | Spunlace, wet-laid, and air-laid nonwoven processes. | Wipes, facial masks, medical gowns, absorbent pads, sanitary products, and household cleaning materials. | Cellulose-based fibers can biodegrade under suitable biological conditions and are derived from renewable biomass. | Biodegradability does not eliminate concerns related to pulping chemicals, wastewater, and forestry management. Responsible sourcing and certified production are important. |
| 4 | Lyocell Fiber | Regenerated cellulose fiber produced by dissolving cellulose in a direct solvent system and extruding it into fibers. | Spunlace, wet-laid, and air-laid processes. | Premium wipes, absorbent hygiene products, medical textiles, cosmetic sheets, and filtration substrates. | Uses renewable cellulose and can biodegrade under suitable composting or soil conditions. Closed-loop solvent recovery can reduce process emissions and solvent loss. | End-of-life behavior is affected by dyes, binders, finishes, and blending with synthetic fibers. The base fiber should not be confused with a fully biodegradable finished product. |
| 5 | Cotton Nonwoven | Natural cellulose fiber obtained from cotton plants and formed into a web without conventional yarn weaving or knitting. | Needle punching, hydroentanglement, thermal bonding with suitable binders, and air-laid processes. | Medical dressing, cosmetic pads, wipes, insulation, filtration, and protective packaging. | Biodegradable and renewable, with good moisture absorption and relatively low persistence after disposal when untreated. | Water, land, pesticide, and fertilizer impacts vary by cultivation method. Finishes, coatings, plastic films, and synthetic blends may significantly reduce biodegradability. |
| 6 | Hemp Nonwoven | Natural bast fiber from the hemp plant, containing cellulose and lignocellulosic components. | Needle punching, spunlace, air-laid, and thermal-bonded composite processes. | Automotive interior composites, insulation, geotextiles, packaging, wipes, and erosion-control materials. | Renewable plant fiber with biodegradability, good mechanical strength, and potential for lower agricultural input requirements than some conventional fiber crops. | Fiber consistency, softness, processing requirements, and regional supply can affect cost and product design. Resin or polymer binders may limit end-of-life biodegradation. |
| 7 | Flax Nonwoven | Natural bast fiber obtained from flax stems and composed primarily of cellulose. | Needle punching, air-laid, wet-laid, and composite molding processes. | Automotive panels, insulation, furniture substrates, geotextiles, packaging, and reinforcement mats. | Biodegradable and renewable, while offering favorable stiffness-to-weight performance in natural-fiber composites. | Moisture sensitivity, variable fiber quality, and compatibility with binders must be managed. Thermoset resin composites are not necessarily biodegradable even when flax is used. |
| 8 | Jute Nonwoven | Natural lignocellulosic bast fiber mainly cultivated in warm, humid regions and widely used for coarse technical textiles. | Needle punching, air-laid, spunlace, and resin-bonded composite processes. | Geotextiles, crop covers, erosion-control blankets, shopping bags, packaging, and insulation. | Renewable, biodegradable, and useful for temporary land applications where gradual biological breakdown is desirable. | Lower resistance to prolonged moisture and biological attack can shorten service life. Heavy coatings, laminations, or synthetic reinforcement can change disposal characteristics. |
| 9 | Bamboo Cellulose Nonwoven | Cellulose fiber derived from bamboo pulp, commonly processed as regenerated cellulose rather than as untreated bamboo fiber. | Spunlace, wet-laid, and air-laid processes. | Wipes, cosmetic masks, absorbent products, household textiles, and packaging sheets. | Uses a rapidly renewable plant resource and can provide biodegradable cellulose-based performance when free from persistent coatings and synthetic blends. | The environmental profile depends on cultivation, pulping chemistry, solvent recovery, bleaching, and wastewater treatment. “Bamboo” labeling alone does not prove biodegradability. |
| 10 | Starch-Based Biopolymer | Biodegradable material formulated from starches such as corn, potato, wheat, or cassava, often combined with plasticizers or other biodegradable polymers. | Film extrusion, meltblown, spunbond, wet-laid, and laminated nonwoven structures. | Packaging, agricultural mulch, disposable service items, absorbent products, and short-life protective materials. | Uses renewable agricultural feedstocks and can biodegrade or compost under suitable conditions depending on formulation. | Moisture sensitivity and lower wet strength are common challenges. Additives, multilayer structures, and contamination can affect compostability and real-world degradation. |
