Textile wastes are now being used as material for building construction. Researchers in Europe have developed a panel with textile waste that improves both thermal and acoustics of buildings and reduces energy impact associated with the production of construction materials and greenhouse gases emissions.

The textile waste has been reintroduced in the productive chain in order to obtain the panels for interior fittings used in construction. These panels can enhance the thermal behavior by reducing twice the thermal conductivity of other commercial materials. At the same time, the introduction of textile fibers can also improve the acoustic behavior of the panels in terms of sound absorption.

The use of recycled materials contributes to significant reductions of energy consumption derived from the manufacturing process while reducing the environmental impact on its incineration and storage at landfills. Used waste does not require any special treatment since they are remnants of quality control products such as manufacturing off cuts or remnants of threads. Because of these environmental issues, an European law was enacted in 2002 in order to encourage the management and recycling of material waste. There are about 5.8 million tons of textile waste discarded in the European Union every year, and only 25 per cent of this waste is recycled.