When looking for wet wipes, consumers often assume that they are made of cotton. However, in fact, nearly all of them are made of man-made fibers. According to research conducted by Cotton Incorporated, 65% of consumers would like to see the fiber content listed on the wipes package. Similarly, 62% said that such information would influence their purchase. While the majority of consumers prefer cotton, they may also choose nonwoven products if they can find the fiber information.

Commercial nonwovens are made in similar ways to pilot-scale fabrics. In this way, the production process is similar to the standard consumer wet wipes. Fabrics produced in this process contain viscose fibers and pulp, which are commonly used in the manufacturing of consumer wet wipes. In addition to these, they are capable of holding different cleaning solutions, including furniture cleaners, Armor-All treatment, and antimicrobial agents.

The study also explored the shedding of microfibers on nonwoven wet wipes in a laboratory setting. The microfiber shedding rate was found to range from eight to 60 per cm2 of nonwoven wet wipes. These results are in sharp contrast to a previous study, which showed a maximum microfiber generation of eight per cm2 (i.e., 0.2 micrometers).

While wetlaid-hydroentangled wipes were constructed with wood pulp and regenerated cellulose fibers, the wipes' ability to clear a 12.5 mm screen was measured against CSF. Interestingly, the fibrillation resistance of wet wipes was positively correlated with their dispersibility. In addition, prevention of fibrillation may enable higher entanglement of fibres, which in turn contributes to their wet strength.