Making Textile Colors By Using Bacteria

Making Textile Colors By Using Bacteria

Making Textile Colors By Using Bacteria

The British startup Colorifix has created a new sustainable dying technique by modifying bacteria to produce, deposit and fix dyes directly onto textiles without using any chemicals and saving water and energy in the process.

The technology doesn't derive pigments straight from plants or animals. Instead, it copies nature's processes in a lab setting, by replicating the DNA message that codes for color in an organism.

While other bacteria-based dye innovations rely on vast amounts of water and chemicals to isolate pigments from bacteria, and make and apply the dye, Colorifix Limited puts the bacteria straight onto the fabric to color it.

The fabric is heated, causing the microorganisms' membranes to burst and release the color, which chemically attaches to the fiber.

The remnants of bacteria cells are then washed off, but the color remains.

This is important, because as the fashion industry pushes towards identifying and implementing sustainable material solutions, scalable recycling and circular design, there is one rarely addressed limiting factor that threatens its progress - the continued use of toxic chemicals.

 

Share this article

Leave your comments

Post comment as a guest

0
terms and condition.
  • Alec Waldron

    Excellent article

  • Jason Cheng

    This is a real solution to end fashion's devastating impact on our limited and precious freshwater resource.

  • Kerry Louise

    AMAZING!!!!!!!

  • Michael Wild

    This is gold

  • Samuel Lewis

    Well explained, thank you so much Susanna!

  • Matt Porter

    Innovative solution to reduce color waste

Share this article

Susanna Koelblin

Commercialization & Sourcing Leader Focused On Circularity

From blockchain to recycling, Susanna talks about emerging technologies and circularity topics in the fashion industry.

   
Save
Cookies user prefences
We use cookies to ensure you to get the best experience on our website. If you decline the use of cookies, this website may not function as expected.
Accept all
Decline all
Read more
Analytics
Tools used to analyze the data to measure the effectiveness of a website and to understand how it works.
Google Analytics
Accept
Decline