**4. Functional applications of natural by-products and wastes in the textile industry**

The consumer demand for more environmentally responsible products with better sustainability credentials is increasingly growing, in addition to progressively more restrictive legislation regarding the environmental impact of industrial activity. Additionally, other increasingly important factors are the search for textile products with differentiated technical and functional properties and with better sustainability credentials, without compromising the appearance, touch, and comfort of the article.

These facts have led companies in the textile and clothing sector to gradually invest in an investigation strategy that leads to the adoption of sustainable policies and reduction of environmental impacts, based on the valorization of wastes and by-products of industries that are geographically close. In this scenario, the reuse of these natural by-products and wastes as a bio-resource in the demanding textile sector presents itself as an alternative.
