Abstract
Naturally colored cottons do not require chemical dyeing. This offers important processing advantages including less water, chemical and energy consumption. Brown, green, and white (Maxxa) cottons, all from domestic sources, were used to construct needlepunched nonwoven composites. Four different designs representing pure cotton, cotton scrim-reinforced, and Lyocell and Amicor AM-blend constructions were manufactured on laboratory-scale equipment. A Fox 200 Heat Flow Meter was used for measurement of thermal conductivity and thermal transmittance of samples of the nonwoven needlepunched batts. The data show that thermal insulation properties of nonwoven materials made from naturally colored cottons vary significantly, depending on the type of the fibers, design of the nonwoven composites, and the resulting density of the composites.