The main by-product generated in the forestry industry is bark, derived from the debarking process. Pinus and eucalyptus are nowadays two of the most important tree species exploited by the forestry industry in southwestern Europe. This work investigates the application of Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) and Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus Labill.) barks as a source of high polyphenolic content extracts, to be used as natural dyes in the textile industry. We demonstrated that it is possible to use the extracts obtained from both forest by-products as textile dyes without the need for using any metallic mordant.

Enhancing recovery is a fundamental component of high-performance sports training since it enables practitioners to potentiate physical performance and minimise the risk of injuries. Using a new sports legging embedded with an intelligent system for electrostimulation, localised heating and compression (completely embodied into the textile structures), we aimed to analyse acute recovery following a fatigue protocol. Surface electromyography- and torque-related variables were recorded on eight recreational athletes. A fatigue protocol conducted in an isokinetic dynamometer allowed us to examine isometric torque and consequent post-exercise acute recovery after using the sports legging. Regarding peak torque, no differences were found between post-fatigue and post-recovery assessments in any variable; however, pre-fatigue registered a 16% greater peak torque when compared with post-fatigue for localised heating and compression recovery methods. Our data are supported by recent meta-analyses indicating that individual recovery methods, such as localised heating, electrostimulation and compression, are not effective to recover from a fatiguing exercise. In fact, none of the recovery methods available through the sports legging tested was effective in acutely recovering the torque values produced isometrically.

The textile industry requires products with a wide range of characteristics for use in diverse applications such as the production of shoes, bags, jackets, thermal clothing and articles for the automotive industry, among others. These products have traditionally been made from leather, which is obtained from animal hides. However, leather production has come under enormous pressure due to sustainability concerns in various areas and the growing number of people who actively choose to avoid all animal products. The main solutions developed by the textile industry have been to apply synthetic coatings based on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyurethane (PUR) to textile substrates. One of the ways to reduce the environmental impact and non-renewable content of artificial leather is to replace parts of the synthetic component with lignocellulosic by-products. In the present work the feasibility of using small branches and leaves of Eucalyptus globulus (BLE) as a component of an aqueous PUR formulation for coating textile products was evaluated. In addition, the possibility of obtaining functional textile products with antioxidant properties based on the BLE particles incorporation was also evaluated. The effect of the BLE particle size distribution in the PUR formulation and on the properties of the coated textile products was evaluated. The BLE particles and their size influenced the colour, appearance, hydrophobicity and mechanical properties of the coated textiles. The (BLE) particles have improved the tensile strength of textile coating products without loss of elongation, improving their properties for specific applications. Furthermore, the textiles coated with the (BLE) particles showed interesting antioxidant properties, being possible to obtain coated fabrics with five times more DPPH radical scavenging activity than the reference coated fabric without (BLE) particles.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the use of forest raw materials to develop new products for the textile industry, focusing mainly on their use as a source of fibres. In addition to fibres, the forest industry produces many by-products, such as bark, branches and leaves, which have interesting applications in the textile sector, mainly as a source of natural dyes or as finishing products for textiles. The textile industry also requires new products with very different charac-teristics, to be used in conditions as diverse as the production of shoes, bags, jackets, thermal clothing and articles for the automotive industry, among others. These products have traditionally been made from leather, which is obtained from animal hides. However, leather production has come under enormous pressure due to sustainability concerns in various areas and the growing number of people who actively choose to avoid all animal products. The main solutions developed by the textile industry have been to apply synthetic coatings based on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyurethane (PUR) to textile substrates. One of the ways to reduce the environmental impact and non-renewable content of artificial leather is to replace parts of the synthetic component with lig-nocellulosic by-products. In addition, lignocellulosic by-products could be used to add functionali-ties to textile products. The feasibility of using small branches and leaves of Eucalyptus globulus (BLE) as a component of an aqueous PUR formulation for coating textile products was evaluated. Recent works demonstrated that BLE particles had interesting antioxidant properties. The effect of the BLE particle size distribution in the PUR formulation and on the properties of the coated textile products was evaluated. The BLE particles and their size influenced the colour, appearance, hydrophobicity and mechanical properties of the coated textiles, demonstrating the industrial applicability of the process. Furthermore, the textiles coated with the BLE particles showed interesting antioxidant properties.