Binding material and method for producing molded body

Provided are: a bonding material which can be suitably used in the production of a molded body having a high degree of whiteness by a dry method; and a method for producing a molded body which can suitably produce a molded body having a high degree of whiteness by a dry method. The binding material according to the present invention is a binding material for obtaining a molded body by binding fibers to each other, the binding material comprising a thermoplastic resin and a fluorescent whitening agent, the fluorescent whitening agent having a higher melting point than the thermoplastic resin. Preferably, the melting point of the fluorescent whitening agent is 200 DEG C or higher. Preferably, the content of the fluorescent whitening agent in the binding material is 1.0% or less by mass. Preferably, the binding material further comprises a white pigment. 本发明提供一种结合材料以及成形体的制造方法，该结合材料能够适当地应用在由干法方法所实现的白色度较高的成形体的制造中，此外，该成形体的制造方法能够通过干法方法而适当地制造白色度较高的成形体。本发明的结合材料为用于通过对纤维彼此进行结合从而获得成形体的结合材料，所述结合材料包含热塑性树脂和荧光增白剂，所述荧光增白剂的熔点高