Patent ID: 7485590

Claim:
In a nonwoven product comprised of a nonwoven web of fibers bonded together with a sufficient amount of polymeric binder to form a self-sustaining web, said polymeric binder comprised of a polymer containing vinyl acetate, ethylene, and a crosslinking monomer, said polymeric binder formed by emulsion polymerization, the improvement which comprises: employing a surfactant having a critical micelle concentration of from 0.5 to 3% by weight of said surfactant in said emulsion polymerization and wherein the surfactant is employed in the emulsion polymerization in an amount of less than 1% by weight of the polymeric binder; said polymer having an ethylene content of from about 3 to 30% by weight, based on the total weight of polymer; said polymer having a crosslinkable monomer content in an amount of from 1 to 10% by weight, based on the total weight of polymer; and wherein, said polymer contains from 0.5 to 5% of a copolymerizable, stabilizing monomer based upon the total weight of said polymer.