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In this article a small amount (4%) of a series of polymer additives were blended with polypropylene (Exxon 3746G) and polyester (Eastman 14965) polymers and the mixtures were processed. The effect of these additives on the surface energy of the polymers was characterized by the contact angle measured on single fibers and by surface energy on nonwoven webs. The results indicate that fibers modified by silicone-containing polymer additives showed the greatest increase in hydrophylicity. Meltblown webs of PP and PET with selected additive also shared the same potential increase of hydrophilicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]