Provided is a non-woven fabric which is suitable for cleaning wipers, diapers, food packaging materials, etc., and has excellent water absorption and handling performance. The non-woven fabric according to the present invention contains a thermoplastic biodegradable resin, and is characterized in that fibers constituting the non-woven fabric have crimps, the flexural rigidity index in the mechanical direction (MD) of the non-woven fabric is 7.77-37.4 as defined by the following equation: flexural rigidity index in the mechanical direction (MD)=flexural rigidity (gf.Math.cm) in the mechanical direction (MD)/{basis weight(g/m.sup.2)}.sup.2.5×10.sup.6, and the bulk density of the non-woven fabric is 0.098 g/cm.sup.3 to 0.251 g/cm.sup.3.

A textile for use as a reusable pad, e.g., a reusable incontinence pad, is provided that is intended to wick and retain moisture or liquid(s), such as bodily fluids (e.g., urine, blood, etc.), away from users of their incontinence pad. Moisture or liquid deposited on an upper surface of the incontinence pad is wicked through one or more layers of material included in the incontinence pad via an increasing capillary gradient using capillary forces. The incontinence pad relies on capillary forces to drive moisture from the incontinent person into the inner layer(s) of the incontinence pad, and leaving a top layer of the incontinence pad dry to the touch. A gradient of capillary size can be present in the incontinence pad in a direction away from the incontinent person, which accordingly encourages liquid to migrate away from the incontinent person and be desirably retained therein.

A biodegradable tobacco fiber and starch-based absorbent article that serves to effectively absorb bodily fluids. The tobacco-based absorbent article includes a plurality of layers: a nonwoven top sheet, an airlaid paper, an absorbent core, a laminated nonwoven back sheet, and optionally, a release paper.

An absorbent hygienic article for absorbing body fluids, the article including a liquid permeable topsheet, a backing layer and an absorbent core arranged between the topsheet and the backing layer, the topsheet and the backing layer being made from roll materials. The topsheet or an absorbent layer in the absorbent core is constituted by a cellulosic fibrous web, the fibres in the cellulosic fibrous web being constituted by a mixture of cellulose fibres including regenerated cellulose fibres or natural cellulose staple fibres and cellulose pulp fibres, the cellulosic fibrous web being a foam-formed, hydroentangled fibrous web.

Soft point bonded nonwoven webs, and methods of making the same, are described that utilize a pattern of small, discrete bond points in a sequent pattern that together form macro-elements. The macro-elements are themselves positioned and aligned within a pattern such that mechanical stretching operations on the point bonded nonwoven webs yields soft and bulky fabrics but with reduced incidence of tearing or rupturing of the individual bond points.

An absorbent hygienic article for absorbing body fluids, the article including a liquid absorbent top layer and a backing layer, the top layer and the backing layer being made from roll materials and being joined together. The top layer is constituted by a cellulosic fibrous web, the fibres in the cellulosic fibrous web being constituted by a mixture of cellulose fibres, the mixture including regenerated cellulose fibres or natural cellulose staple fibres and cellulose pulp fibres, the cellulosic fibrous web being a foam-formed, hydroentangled cellulosic fibrous web.

An absorbent product includes a nonwoven material arranged to be in contact with skin of a user during use of the absorbent product. The nonwoven material includes, at least on a skin contacting surface, a mixture of non-absorbent and absorbent fibres. The absorbent fibres are present in an amount of 2-30% by weight, or about 2-10% by weight, based on the total weight of the fibres in the nonwoven material. The non-absorbent fibres have a coarseness of 1.8 to 10 dtex and the absorbent fibres have a coarseness of 1 to 10. Also disclosed is a use of a nonwoven material in an absorbent product to reduce wet friction between the nonwoven and skin of a user.

An absorbent article is provided with microencapsulated phase change material (microPCM) particles that are embedded in and/or coated onto a layer of the absorbent article that includes a resilient sheet of an open-cell foam. The foam layer is disposed such that it is in contact with or is in proximity to the user. The microPCM particles absorb heat generated during use of the absorbent article to reduce the contact temperature on the inside of the absorbent article and improve the comfort of the user. To maximize comfort, the phase change temperature of the microPCM particles may be an average normal body temperature.

A top sheet for an absorbent personal care product is a water-permeable composite web produced by hydro-entangling a web of chemical free natural and/or cellulosic staple fibers and/or blend of natural and cellulosic staple fibers and a web of man-made continuous filament yards such that a first side of the composite web exposes the chemical free natural and/or cellulosic staple fibers and/or blend of natural and cellulosic staple fibers and an opposite second side of the composite web has the man-made continuous filament yarns. The web of chemical free natural and/or cellulosic staple fibers and/or blend of natural and cellulosic staple fibers is hydrophilic and the web of man-made continuous filament synthetic yarns is hydrophobic. The composite web weights between about 20 gsm and about 40 gsm.

An absorbent article having a topsheet, a backsheet arranged on the garment-facing side, an absorbent core enclosed between the topsheet and the backsheet and a pair of standing gathers. The topsheet and the standing gathers comprise sheet materials with specified stiffness, softness and smoothness properties. The absorbent article may be a diaper or incontinence guard.