This invention relates to polyvinyl alcohol fibers, methods of making polyvinyl alcohol fibers and products manufactured from polyvinyl alcohol fibers. The invention relates particularly but not exclusively to products comprising extruded polyvinyl alcohol fibers, methods of making extruded polyvinyl alcohol fibers and products incorporating such fibers.

The invention concerns a novel binder system and its use for consolidating textile fabrics, as well as to products containing such consolidated textile fabrics. The materials according to the invention are suitable for the manufacture of reinforcing inserts, optionally in combination with at least one further textile fabric, for coated sarking membranes, roofing and waterproofing sheets, as textile backings or textile reinforcement in flooring, in particular in fitted carpets and PVC flooring, or in facers in wall coatings both in the interior and exterior of buildings, as well as in furniture.

A nonwoven fabric used for a foamed article reinforcing material to be bonded to a foamed material to reinforce the foamed article is a single-layer material in which stacked layers of a web are bonded together, has a thickness of 1 to 8 mm under a load of 7 g/cm.sup.2, and has a delamination strength of 0.05 to 2.45 N/cm. The delamination strength is a value of the pulling force required to peel the bonded layers of the web apart.

Mechanically entangled, in-line formed, packs of glass fibers are mechanically entangled differently at different portions of the web. In one exemplary embodiment, in-line formed glass fibers are mechanically entangled by any combination of two or more entangling devices. The two or more entangling devices may be the same or different. In one exemplary embodiment, the glass fibers are mechanically entangled from at least a first side of a web by a first entangling device and are mechanically entangled from a second side of the web by a second entangling device.

Mechanically entangled, in-line formed, packs of glass fibers are mechanically entangled differently at different portions of the web. In one exemplary embodiment, in-line formed glass fibers are mechanically entangled by any combination of two or more entangling devices. The two or more entangling devices may be the same or different. In one exemplary embodiment, the glass fibers are mechanically entangled from at least a first side of a web by a first entangling device and are mechanically entangled from a second side of the web by a second entangling device.

Aspects herein are directed to a recyclable, asymmetrical-faced composite nonwoven textile suitable for use in apparel and other articles and methods of making the same. In example aspects, the asymmetrical-faced composite nonwoven textile includes a first face formed, at least in part from a first entangled web of fibers and an opposite second face formed, at least in part from a second entangled web of fibers. When incorporated into an article of apparel, the first face forms an outer-facing surface of the article of apparel, and the second face forms an inner-facing surface of the article of apparel. The first face includes features making it suitable to form the outer-facing surface such as resistance to abrasion, and the second face includes features making it suitable to form an inner-facing surface such as a soft hand.

Aspects herein are directed to a recyclable, asymmetrical-faced composite nonwoven textile suitable for use in apparel and other articles and methods of making the same. In example aspects, the asymmetrical-faced composite nonwoven textile includes a first face formed, at least in part from a first entangled web of fibers and an opposite second face formed, at least in part from a second entangled web of fibers. When incorporated into an article of apparel, the first face forms an outer-facing surface of the article of apparel, and the second face forms an inner-facing surface of the article of apparel. The first face includes features making it suitable to form the outer-facing surface such as resistance to abrasion, and the second face includes features making it suitable to form an inner-facing surface such as a soft hand.