Disclosed is an absorbent article having, on its skin contact side, a sheet 2 having a region where, when rubbed under the conditions below, a friction coefficient or a mean deviation of the friction coefficient decreases by 5% or more or 15% or more, respectively, compared to before the rubbing. The absorbent article has a longitudinal direction X corresponding to the front-to-back direction of a wearer and a lateral direction Y. Conditions: A wet collagen film is reciprocated 10 times on the sheet in the longitudinal direction of the sheet under a load of 3.0 kPa; and the wet collagen film has a water content of 100 to 150 mass % relative to the dry weight thereof and is prepared by immersing a collagen film (EDCOL-R, available from PRIRO) cut out into a square of 10 cm in ion-exchanged water for 1 minute, taking out the collagen film, and removing excess water.

Three dimensional nonwoven materials and methods of manufacturing such materials are disclosed. An absorbent article can include an absorbent body and an outer cover. The absorbent article can also include a fluid-entangled nonwoven material. The absorbent body can be disposed between the fluid-entangled nonwoven material and the outer cover. The fluid-entangled nonwoven can include a first surface and a second surface. The nonwoven material can also include a plurality of nodes extending away from abase plane on the first surface towards the absorbent body. The nonwoven material can further include a plurality of openings extending from the first surface to the second surface through the fluid-entangled nonwoven material. Individual openings of the plurality of openings can be disposed between adjacent nodes of the plurality of nodes.

A polymeric film is provided, the film comprising one or more land portions that are substantially coplanar in a base plane and a plurality of distended portions separated from one another by the one or more land portions. The distended portions bow distally outward from the base plane. The polymeric film further comprises a plurality of annular micro-protrusions extending outward from the distal film surface, each protrusion having an apex. A portion of the plurality of annular micro-protrusions extends from each of the one or more land portions of the polymeric film and from each of the distended portions of the polymeric film.

A nonwoven fabric 10, wherein, on a side of the one surface, a plurality of longitudinal ridge portions 11 protruding on the side of the one surface in thickness direction of the nonwoven fabric is extended in one direction Y on the side of the one surface in a plane view, and is aligned at intervals on the side of the one surface in the plane view, in other direction X, different from the one direction Y on the side of the one surface, transverse ridge portions 21 extending in the other direction X on the side of the one surface are arranged by linking the longitudinal ridge portions 11, and a fiber orientation direction in the longitudinal ridge portions 11 is different from a fiber orientation direction in the transverse ridge portions 21.

A nonwoven fabric. The nonwoven fabric can include a first surface and a second surface and a visually discernible pattern of three-dimensional features on one of the first or second surface. Each of the three-dimensional features can define a microzone comprising a first region and a second region. The first and second regions can have a difference in values for an intensive property. The nonwoven further has a plurality of apertures, wherein at least a portion of the aperture abuts at least one of the first region and the second region of the microzone.

A nonwoven fabric. The nonwoven fabric can include a first surface and a second surface and a visually discernible pattern of three-dimensional features on one of the first or second surface. Each of the three-dimensional features can define a microzone comprising a first region and a second region. The first and second regions can have a difference in values for an intensive property, wherein the intensive property is one or more of thickness, basis weight, or volumetric density, and wherein the first surface has a TS7 value different than a TS7 value of the second surface.

An absorbent article for menstrual and/or incontinence purposes, having a unique two-layer acquisition and absorbent structure. The cover layer includes a nonwoven material. The absorbent core includes multiple strata including super absorbent, fiber material that is pulp and/or bicomponent fibers, and a binder material. The total thickness of the absorbent article is less than or equal to the thickness of absorbent articles of similar absorbent characteristics. The absorbent article includes various absorbent properties that are improved despite parity or reduction in overall thickness.

A method for making a high topography nonwoven substrate includes generating a foam including water and synthetic binder fibers; depositing the foam on a planar surface; disposing a template form on the foam opposite the planar surface to create a foam/form assembly; heating the foam/form assembly to dry the foam and bind the synthetic binder fibers; and removing the template from the substrate after heating the foam/form assembly, wherein the substrate includes a planar base layer having an X-Y surface and a backside surface opposite the X-Y surface; and a plurality of projection elements integral with and protruding in a Z-direction from the X-Y surface, wherein the projection elements are distributed in both the X- and Y-directions, and wherein the density of a projection element is the same as the density of the base layer.

An absorbent article and method of making the absorbent article are disclosed. The absorbent article having a topsheet, a backsheet, and an absorbent core structure having one or more layers wherein at least one layer is a heterogeneous mass layer, wherein the topsheet and the heterogeneous mass are integrated such that they reside in the same X-Y plane.

A three-dimensional substrate has a central longitudinal axis extending perpendicular to a central lateral axis. A line taken in a direction parallel to or perpendicular to the central lateral axis of the three-dimensional substrate has a non-apertured, first visually discernible zone in the substrate and a second visually discernible zone in the substrate. The first visually discernable zone has a pattern of three-dimensional features on a first surface or a second surface. At least some of the three-dimensional features define a microzone having a first region and a second region. The first region and the second region have a difference in value for an intensive property. The second visually discernable zone defines apertures. The apertures have an Effective Aperture Area in a range of about 0.3 mm.sup.2 to about 15 mm.sup.2.