Soft tissue containing synthetic fibers

The present invention provides a tissue product formed from a fiber stock consisting essentially of short cellulose fibers， such as fibers having an average fiber length of less than about 2.0 mm， and synthetic fibers having at least one cross-sectional dimension of less than about 20 μm. Tissue products generally comprise less than about 30% synthetic fibers， based on the weight of the tissue product. In a preferred embodiment， the tissue product comprises non-fibrillated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers having a circular cross-sectional shape with a diameter of less than about 5.0 μm and is substantially free of long cellulose fibers. Despite the absence of long cellulose fibers， tissue products have good strength and low rigidity. The present invention provides a tissue product formed from a fiber furnish consisting essentially of short cellulosic fibers， such as fibers having an average fiber length less than about 2.0 mm， and a synthetic fiber having at least one cross-section dimension less than about 20 microns. The invention also provides a tissue product comprising at least one wet laid multi-layered tissue web comprising a fiber furnish consisting essentially of synthetic fibers and short cellulosic fibers， the multi-layered tissue web having a first and second outer layer and a middle layer disposed there between where the synthetic fibers are selectively disposed in the middle layer. Generally the tissue product comprises less than about 30 percent， by weight of the tissue product， synthetic fiber. In a preferred embodiment the tissue product comprises non-fibrillated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers having a circular cross-section shape with a diameter less than about 5.0 microns and are substantially free from long cellulosic fibers. Despite being free from long cellulosic fibers the tissue product have good strength and low stiffness. The present invention provides a tissue product formed from a fiber furnish consisting essentially of short cellulosic fibers， such as fibers having an average fiber length less than about 2.0 mm， and a synthetic fiber having at least one cross-section dimension less than about 20 microns. The invention also provides a tissue product comprising at least one wet laid multi-layered tissue web comprising a fiber furnish consisting essentially of synthetic fibers and short cellulosic fibers， the multi-layered tissue web having a first and second outer layer and a middle layer disposed there between where the synthetic fibers are selectively disposed in the middle layer. Generally the tissue product comprises less than about 30 percent， by weight of the tissue product， synthetic fiber. In a preferred embodiment the tissue product comprises non-fibrillated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers having a circular cross-section shape with a diameter less than about 5.0 microns and are substantially free from long cellulosic fibers. Despite being free from long cellulosic fibers the tissue product have good strength and low stiffness.