Towel and bath towel glossary

A textile made from fibers bonded into a web rather than woven from yarn. There is no warp and weft, so a nonwoven has no grain direction to line up and no unraveling edge.

Used in Materials

A nonwoven bonded by high-pressure water jets that entangle the fibers with each other. Also called hydroentangled. The process leaves the cloth soft and drapeable because no binder or heat is used to hold the web together.

Explained in Fuzz also starts with the water

The step where loose fiber is laid down into a continuous sheet before bonding. The evenness of that lay-up sets how much the weight varies across the width and along the length of the finished cloth.

See Nominal GSM is not a delivered weight

The bonding action inside spunlace: water fired from a row of injectors pushes fibers past each other until they wrap and lock. More energy means more entanglement, less fuzz, and a stiffer, thinner cloth.

See Fuzz also starts with the water

A regenerated cellulose fiber. Soft in the hand, quick to take water, low in lint, and the reference fiber for this product family. Can carry a slight odor that becomes more noticeable when wet; most people do not notice it.

Compared in Materials

A natural cellulose fiber. Drier and more textured in the hand than viscose, low in lint, and the highest fiber cost of the five options at equal GSM.

Compared in Materials

Cellulose fiber from wood, used as the absorbent component in a blend, usually with polyester or polypropylene for strength. Cheaper than the viscose options, and commonly available in plain and pearl textures.

Compared in Materials

A synthetic fiber. Soft, inexpensive, and not water-absorbing. Increasing its share lowers cost and raises fuzz, and it removes any 100% biodegradable description from the finished piece.

See Fuzz starts with the fiber

A regenerated cellulose fiber produced in a solvent process. Used here as a minor blend component — for example 20% in an 80% viscose blend — to lighten the viscose odor. Harder in the hand than viscose, which is why 100% lyocell is not offered in this range.

Compared in Materials

Grams per square meter: how much fiber sits in one square meter of cloth. Written as g/m² in specifications and as gsm in conversation. It is a property of the cloth, not of the cut piece.

See GSM and piece weight

The weight of one finished towel in grams, calculated as length in meters × width in meters × GSM. A delivered piece carries a tolerance around that figure, and the tolerance is what has to be agreed in writing.

See GSM and piece weight

The size written on the specification, before any tolerance. A nominal 40 × 80 cm towel is not exactly 40.0 × 80.0 cm, and a quotation that names only the nominal size has not said what will be measured.

See Confirmed size ranges

Unfolded size is the flat piece and determines coverage. Folded size is the finished bundle that goes into the pack and determines carton dimensions. The two are recorded separately because a pack can change the second without touching the first.

See Pack formats

The coefficient of variation: the spread of a measurement expressed as a percentage of its average. Two lots can share the same mean piece weight and still differ in quality, and only the CV shows it.

See Nominal GSM is not a delivered weight

An unembossed surface with an even fiber lay-up. The thinnest of the three at equal GSM in our production, which makes it the most economical to ship for a given area.

See The three texture names

Rounded embossed dots in a regular pattern. The thickest of the three at equal GSM in our production. It also sets a practical limit on how much polyester a heavy pearl towel can carry before fuzzing appears.

See Fuzz starts with the fiber

A surface with diagonal embossed lines crossing the cloth. An established structure name in the trade rather than an in-house code. Mid-way between plain and pearl in thickness at equal GSM.

See The three texture names

Towels folded and packed in quantity, taken from a stack by staff as needed. Lowest packaging cost and smallest carton cube per piece, with no protection between the carton and the user.

See Pack formats

One towel or bath towel per sealed pack, handed to a single user. Higher cost per piece and a larger carton for the same count, in exchange for a piece that arrives untouched and a pack that can carry a brand.

See Pack formats

Production under the buyer's brand rather than the manufacturer's. Covers print, label, barcode, and carton marking, and requires approved artwork before production starts.

See What can carry a brand

Minimum order quantity. Here it is set per SKU rather than per order, and a new size, color, or artwork each starts its own count. Private-label towels and bath towels typically start at 40,000 pieces per SKU.

See Minimum quantity

Fiber ends lifted from the surface, so the cloth looks hairy or feels rough. The fiber is still attached. Driven by fiber composition and by how much energy the water jets put into the web.

See Fuzz starts with the fiber

Fiber or debris that leaves the cloth and lands on skin, glass, or a dark surface. The fiber is gone. At equal GSM the tendency ranks polyester highest, with viscose, lyocell, and cotton close together and well below it.

See Lint follows the fiber