How wet wipes are made

Nine in ten wet wipes are plastic fabric, which is why many brands cannot really be flushed.

stations: 5
things upstream: 22
raw sources: 8
steps from the ground: 7

The short version

A wet wipe is a sheet of nonwoven fabric soaked in a cleansing liquid. About ninety percent of wipes use polyester or polypropylene. Fibers are laid into a web and bonded without weaving, cut into sheets, then saturated with water or another liquid containing preservatives, and folded into packs.

Form the fiber web

Staple fibers are spun, cut to a few centimeters, blended and opened, then dispersed on a conveyor belt and spread into an even web.

Goes in
Polyester Polypropylene
Bond the web

The loose web is bound into fabric by chemical, mechanical, heat or solvent treatment, with no weaving. Spunlace bonding tangles the fibers with water jets.
Cut the sheets

The roll of nonwoven fabric is cut and folded into wipe-sized sheets.
Saturate with lotion

The fabric is moistened with water or other liquid such as isopropyl alcohol. Softeners, lotions or perfume adjust feel and scent, and preservatives such as methylisothiazolinone prevent bacteria and fungi growing in the package.

Goes in
Water
Seal in packs

Sheets are packed in sealed tubs or pouches with dispensing openings so they stay moist.

Goes in
Plastic

End of the lineWet wipes

Worth repeating

The first wipes marketed specifically as baby wipes, Huggies and Pampers, appeared in 1990.
In 2013, Consumer Reports found that none of the leading flushable wipes passed its tests.
In the early 1970s the American Can Company test-marketed Fresh'n, a flushable moist toilet towel, in Omaha and Phoenix.