Theater Linen Market - Forecast(2024 - 2030)

Theater Linen Market Overview

The theater linen market size is expected to reach US$ 11.2 billion by 2027, after growing at a CAGR of around 5.0% from 2022 to 2027. The theater linen is a textile that is prepared from the flax plant natural fibers that are used across various surgical procedures and operational theaters. It is tough, antibacterial, and highly absorbent compared to cotton. The theater linen uses a variety of materials such as single-use or disposable, polyester or traditional cotton, and microfibers for a variety of applications in the healthcare sector. The increasing demand from the various end-use industries such as hospitals, clinics, surgical centers, and others is driving the theater linen industry, owing to rising hygiene, clean, and tidy clothing needs. Furthermore, the global theater linen market will experience major growth opportunities with rising surgery services and developing healthcare infrastructure across the world during the forecast period.

COVID-19 Impact

The worldwide covid-19 pandemic has hampered the functioning and growth of the theater linen market. The theater linen is majorly used in the hospital, clinics, and other healthcare units. The major disruptions created by the pandemic such as supply chain disturbance halts in production, and logistic problems affected the market. The hospital units were majorly impacted by the pandemic. The decline in hospital infrastructure and shortages of medical equipment such as PPE kits, linens, IV poles, and other supplies led to major falls in the global hospital sector. Furthermore, the demand for hospital bedding was high due to increased covid patient cases during the covid-19 pandemic. However, the supply side faced shortages and productions halts, thereby creating a high gap between the demand and supply and leading to major stress and disruptions in the hospital sector. According to the United States Census Bureau, the offices of physicians fell by 14.9% in the second quarter of 2020 and medical and diagnostic labs were down by around 10.9% in 2020. Furthermore, the shortages in medical equipment, linen, PPE kits, and others in the hospitals created a major decline in the global theater linen market, as the supply chain was not fulfilled, productions were halted, and reduced outpatient visits in covid-19. The application of microfiber, polyester, and single-use theater linen was hampered in the hospitals, clinics, and others during the initial pandemic stage, thereby impacting the theater linen market size. However, with recovering medical infrastructure and stabilizing hospital networks, the theater linen industry experienced major growth opportunities post-pandemic owing to its antibacterial feature, microfiber superiority, and single-use applications.

Report Coverage

The theater linen market report: “Theater Linen Market– Forecast (2022-2027)” by IndustryARC covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the theater linen market and provides a theater linen industry outlook.

By Material Type: Microfiber, Disposable, Polyester Cotton or Traditional Cotton
By Application: Hospital Bed Sheets, Surgical Gowns, Towels, Aprons, Patient Garments, and Others
By End-Use Industry: Hospitals, Clinics, Ambulatory Surgical Centers, and Others
By Geography: North America (USA, Canada, and Mexico), Europe (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Russia, Belgium, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Rest of APAC), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Rest of South America), Middle East (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Israel, Rest of the Middle East) and Africa (South Africa, Nigeria, Rest of Africa)

Key Takeaways

• The theater linen market is experiencing growth prospects with the rising application demand in the hospitals, surgery centers, clinics, and others due to its antibacterial and hygienic features during the forecast period.
• The Asia Pacific region holds a major growth share and is dominating the theater linen market due to the rising healthcare facilities and growing hospital infrastructure activities.
• The disposable or single-use material type is dominating in the theater linen industry due to growing hygiene and reduced bacterial and infection transfer practices in the hospitals and surgical centers.

Figure: Asia Pacific Theater Linen Market Revenue, 2021-2027 (US$ Billion)

Theater Linen Market Segment Analysis – By Material Type

By material type, the disposable segment is expected to have the largest share of more than 30% in 2021 and is expected to boost the theater linen market share in the coming years. The high demand for disposable or single theater linen is influenced by rising antibacterial hygiene practices and the prevention of infections in the hospital units. The disposable linen material offers relief from the transfer of infections and stained surgical item maintenance compared to polyester or microfiber theater linen, as it is based on the concept of single-use only. According to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the healthcare sector is expected to reach USD 372 billion by the year 2022. The growing awareness about infections control in hospitals is boosting the growth prospects for disposable or single-use theater linen. Furthermore, the disposable theater linen saves the costs on laundry and other maintenance costs linked with the traditional linen, compared to natural fiber and synthetic microfiber linen. Thus, with growing applications and demand in the healthcare sector, the disposable material types will grow in the theater linen industry during the forecast period.

Theater Linen Market Segment Analysis – By Application

By application, the hospital bed sheets segment is expected to hold a significant share of 35% in 2021 and is expected to increase the theater linen market size in the coming years. The high demand for hospital bed sheets is influenced by the increasing number of patient admissions in hospitals. The disposable bed linens have a high growth-share due to rising emphasis on anti-infection, antibacterial safety, and hygiene needs in the hospitals. The risks of cross-contamination are driving the growth of single-use bed sheet linens in the healthcare units. Moreover, the increasing number of hospital beds during the pandemic has also influenced the demand for hospital bed sheets. According to the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), around 537,619 inpatient beds were in use, 77,966 inpatient beds for covid-19, 60,813 ICU beds, and 14,289 beds in use for the covid-19 patients as of June 2020. Various companies are manufacturing theater bed sheets that offer stain release features, shrink resistance, and easy washing properties. Furthermore, the growth in the hospital infrastructure, surgical treatment procedures, and high bed requirements for patients is creating major demand for global theatre linen products such as bedsheets. Thus, the theater linen market will see high demand owing to high patient admissions post covid and improved hospital facilities in the coming years.

Theater Linen Market Segment Analysis- By End-Use Industry

By end-use industry, the hospital segment is expected to have the largest share of more than 37% in 2021 and is expected to increase the theater linen market size during the forecast period. The rising patient admissions and growing surgical and hospital infrastructure are influencing the growth in the theater linen industry. The growing hygiene and need for antibacterial clothing in hospitals are creating major growth in the theater linen market. The theater linen has various applications in the healthcare sector such as surgical gowns, beddings, pillow covers, aprons, patient garments, and others with materials such as microfiber, polyester cotton, or disposable types. Furthermore, the rise in inpatient admissions due to covid-19 is growing the demand for theater linen in the hospital sector, as it is used in inpatient beds, gowns, masks, and others. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, around 11.1 million hospitalizations were reported for admitted patient care, with 4.4 million in private and 6.7 million in public hospitals in 2019-20. Furthermore, the growing hospital facilities for patients, hygiene awareness, and infrastructural development in the global healthcare sector are increasing the demand for theater linen for various hospital applications. Thus, with rising hygienic hospital services and growth in surgical treatments in hospitals, the theater linen industry will experience growth in the coming years.

Theater Linen Market Segment Analysis – By Geography

By geographical analysis, the Asia pacific holds the largest share of more than 41% in the theater linen market for the year 2021 and will increase the theater linen market size in the coming years. The rising demand for theater linen in this region is majorly influenced by the growing hygiene and antibacterial structures in healthcare and hospital units. The growing number of hospitals numbers in APAC is anticipated to drive the market for theater linen market. Furthermore, the growing healthcare investments by the government in nations such as China, India, and others are anticipated to boost the growth opportunities for the theater linen industry. According to the World Bank, around 7.1% of the GDP was spent on health expenditure in China. The rise in hospital services, clinical trials, healthcare infrastructure, and growing surgical treatment in APAC is leading to a major demand for theater linen in various applications such as bedsheets, surgical gowns, and others, which uses natural fibers, microfiber, or polyester material. Thus, with growing healthcare facilities, improved hospitals, and hygienic surgical procedures in the Asia Pacific, the demand for the theater linen market will see high growth during the forecast period.

Theater Linen Market– Drivers

Increasing hygiene awareness in the hospital sector

The rising trend awareness for hygiene and prevention of infection transfer is creating a major drive in the global theater linen industry. The demand for disposable or single-use theater linen is increasing with rising practices for hygiene and cleanliness in hospitals, clinics, and surgical centers. Various hospitals units have invested in theater linen to limit the use of dirty or spread of contagious infections, thereby increasing the theater linen market size. According to the National Health Expenditure Account (NHEA), healthcare spending grew by around 9.3% in the year 2020, reaching USD 4.1 trillion. The high demand for clean operation theater linen is influenced by growing hygienic practices, antibacterial and anti-infection features, and awareness in the healthcare sector. The antibacterial and infection control advantage of the polyester or the disposable theater linen has led to major growth in the hospital sector. Thus, with a high emphasis on hygiene in beddings, surgical clothing, and others, the theater linen industry will see a major drive during the forecast period.

High demand from the ambulatory surgical centers

The growth in ambulatory surgical centers is creating a high demand for the theater linen market. The rise in outpatient surgeries and treatment has boosted the number of ambulatory surgical centers. The ASCs are cost-effective, less stressful, and provide a peaceful environment than many hospitals. The increase in hybrid operating room systems is creating a rise in the global theater linen market share and applications across the globe. The effort to provide sophisticated treatment and diagnosis to patients is fulfilled by the ambulatory surgical centers. For instance, the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (JAAOS) presented that ambulatory surgical centers save around 17% to 42% on the direct costs, depending on the treatment procedures. Thus, with a high emphasis on remote patient monitoring, shift to outpatient surgery procedures, and better management in ASCs, the theater linen industry is experiencing high demand for applications such as surgical gowns, bedsheets, aprons, and others involving natural fiber and antibacterial linen in the coming years.

Theater Linen Market– Challenges

High linen costs and mishandling loss

The production of linen is an expensive procedure as it is a producer of natural fibers derived from the flax plants. The production process is quite intensive and has high production costs compared to other fabrics. Furthermore, the theater linen industry experiences challenges as the majority of the linen are lost due to mishandling and poor washing techniques in hospitals. For instance, the data by American Reusable Textiles Association states that around 2-3% of the hospital budget is spent on linen services and laundry. The manufacturers face huge losses with the linen vanishing and mishandling, thereby creating a major impact on its application and theater linen market size, considering the high costs of production.

Global Theater Linen Industry Outlook

The global theater linen top 10 companies include:

1. ImageFIRST Healthcare Laundry Specialists, Inc.
2. Hospital Central Services, Inc. and Affiliates (HCSC)
3. Elizabethtown Laundry Company
4. Unitex Textile Rental Services, Inc.
5. Medline Industries, Inc.
6. Emes Textiles Pvt. Ltd.
7. Towel & Linen (Pty) Ltd
8. Angelica Corporation
9. Crothall Healthcare Inc.
10. Synergy Health PLC, 

Recent Developments

• In April 2021, ImageFIRST acquired the Southern Medical Linen Service, a leading provider of healthcare service in an undisclosed dealing. This acquisition will strengthen the geographical presence and consumer base for the company.
• In October 2020, Lion Equity made an acquisition of the T-Y Group and the Harbour Linen from Bed Bath & Beyond.
• In September 2019, the Angelica Corporation certified three facilities for the Hygienically Clean Healthcare Certification Program. This is expected to increase the base for the company and boost the theater linen market share.

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