Nonwoven products bonded with binder emulsions of copolymers of vinyl acetate/ethylene/incompatible comonomer/latent crosslinking comonomer

In a nonwoven product comprising a nonwoven web of fibers bonded together with a vinyl acetate/ethylene emulsion copolymer binder, the improvement which comprises a vinyl acetate/ethylene/incompatible comonomer/latent crosslinking comonomer emulsion copolymer prepared by adding the incompatible and latent crosslinking comonomers to a first vinyl acetate/ethylene copolymer emulsion which has a free vinyl acetate content less than 5% and without equilibrating the incompatible comonomers with the first emulsion, essentially immediately polymerizing the comonomers essentially without adding additional stabilizing system.

In a nonwoven product comprising a nonwoven web of fibers bonded together with a vinyl acetate/ethylene emulsion copolymer binder, the improvement which comprises an aqueous emulsion copolymer binder prepared by

• (a) polymerizing vinyl acetate and ethylene under emulsion polymerization conditions in the presence of a stabilizing system to form a first stage copolymer emulsion having a vinyl acetate free monomer content less than 5%, and
• (b) adding and polymerizing methyl methacrylate and a latent crosslinking comonomer as a second stage under emulsion polymerization conditions essentially without equilibrating the methyl methacrylate with the first stage emulsion and essentially without adding additional stabilizing system,
• sufficient amounts of the monomers being used in steps (a) and (b) to provide a copolymer consisting essentially of vinyl acetate, 4-25 wt % ethylene, 8-50 wt % methyl methacrylate and 1-10 wt % latent crosslinking comonomer and having a single Tg.