Industry experts define nonwovens

By Janet Preus

Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar, director of the nonwovens laboratory at Texas Tech Univeristy, Lubbock, Texas, says there is “a lot of confusion” about what nonwovens are, particularly in countries where the nonwoven industry is not as mature as it is in the United States.

“A nonwoven is a type of fabric structure used in technical textiles,” Ramkumar says. “Nonwovens are all technical textiles, but not all technical textiles are nonwoven.”

For a quick refresher on the basics of nonwovens, visit “About Nonwovens” on INDA’s Web site, www.inda.org.

Janet Preus is a freelance writer and editor based in St. Paul, Minn.