Prospects for growth in the surgical gown and drape market worldwide are bright. Infinium Global Research, Hinjawadi, Pune, Maharashtra, India, identifies the key drivers as the growing number of surgical procedures and growing awareness of safety and infection control during surgeries. Greater interest in smart gowns will also help.

These trends raise the question of whether marketers of reusable textiles could increase their market share vs. disposable equivalents, i.e., capitalize on the expansion. Market forecasters like Infinium are betting on disposables receiving the lion’s share of the growth. But they track only manufacturers’ sales of these items, not the revenue ...