PROPERTIES OF HYDROENTANGLED NONWOVEN FABRICS MADE WITH GREIGE COTTON LINT, SELECTED MANMADE STAPLE FIBERS, AND THEIR INTIMATE BLENDS WITH THE LINT IN DIFFERENT BLEND RATIOS

For the first time ever, a preliminary study has been conducted to assess the effects of intimate blending of greige (raw) cotton and certain commonly used manmade fibers on properties of the resulting nonwoven fabrics made with different blend ratios. Implementing the hydroentanglement system of making nonwoven fabrics, twenty one (21) fabrics were made separately, using the selected pre-cleaned Upland greige cotton lint, polyester, polypropylene, Tencel, viscose rayon, bleached cotton, and intimate blends of the cotton lint with the other fibers in 80:20, 50:50 and 20:80 blend ratios. With the exception of 100% polypropylene fiber and its 80:20 intimate blends with cotton, all other fibers and their various blends with the greige cotton were processed on the mill-like equipment available at the Center. The fabrics were not scoured and/or bleached to totally remove the greige cotton’s native (hydrophobic) waxes. The results have shown that the improvement of desirable features of absorbency and whiteness of optimally blended greige cotton-based nonwoven fabrics could be significant incentives for rethinking cotton’s use in nonwovens, especially in the fem-hygienic products where the consumer’s choices of good absorbency, whiteness and comfort indeed matter!