Our Leading Edge Technologies Give You an Edge over the Competition What is a Nonwoven? "Nonwovens" is an unusual word because it describes what something is not. The manufacturing process and durability are the major differences between woven and nonwoven fabrics. The cotton knit in a tee shirt and the nylon in a tent are woven fabrics. These woven textiles are designed to be used time after time. A nonwoven fabric is a fabric made without weaving. Typically, a plastic-like material, a polymer, is made into fibers which are laid down on a conveyor belt, known as a web-former, and lightly melted together. Just as weaving holds fibers together to form a textile fabric, this melting bonds the fibers together to form a nonwoven fabric. The natural economy of a nonwoven fabric allows it to be used in applications in which the fabric will have a short life; essentially making it disposable. Technologies Used to Create Customized Nonwoven Fabrics Solutions We manufacture many different types of nonwoven fabrics. In most instances, these variations are named for the process used to produce them. So spunbond, for example, is the name of both the product and the process used to produce it. While nearly all these processes have one thing in common - they use heat (thermal bonding) or adhesives to hold the fibers together - they may differ in their use of one or more of the following raw materials: • Polypropylene - an economical polymer with melting characteristics which enable efficient production.   Polypropylene is used in most of our nonwoven fabrics. • Bi-component fibers ("bico") - two polymers, such as polyethylene and nylon, are contained in each fiber   to deliver special properties such as extra softness. • Pulp - cellulose fibers from trees, commonly used in tissue and other paper, which are very absorbent. Visit Kimberly-Clark Engineered Technologies for more information.

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