Potentiality of cotton nonwoven fabrics

Abstract

Cotton, the age old fibre in the field of textiles, still holds its potentiality. Various developments and modifications, both physical and chemical, have been made to the fibre with a parallel importance given to product development and identifying the diversified fields of application. The world statistics indicate that cotton fibre accounts for more than 46% of all textile fibres used today. The properties that make it particularly suitable for nonwovens are its absorbency, vapour permeability, handle, wicking, crimp retention, biodegradability, low electrostatic build up, good cover and opacity. Cotton can also be easily sterilized to find a place in the field of medical application and personal care products. Above all, it is comparatively cheap and readily available in India and several other countries. This paper relates the importance of cotton fibre for specific end use products made from nonwovens, highlighting the potentiality of this fibre in various fields of application.