With the expansion of nonwovens into several novel applications, there is growing interest in the development of biodegradable/compostable nonwovens. Over the past few years, research has been done at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville to produce and evaluate nonwoven products containing cotton, especially those with cellulose acetate as binder fibers. Recent studies have shown that, by modifying the fibers or process conditions, nonwoven fabrics with good performance properties can be produced. Other combinations of cotton and biodegradable thermoplastic fibers also result in good quality nonwoven fabrics. These nonwoven products may have additional advantages in molding type applications, due to the nature of the binder fiber used, opening door to new opportunities, such as in automotive products. The production of nonwovens by the thermal bonding process from such compositions, and the structure and properties of the resulting products are discussed.