INTRODUCTION “The fashion industry is one of the major polluting industries in the world” (Wicker, 2022). The United Nations Environment Programme (2021) claims that the fashion industry produces between 2-8% of all global carbon emissions. All different aspects in relation to garment production: starting from the cultivation and distribution of the crops, dyeing textiles, production and shipping of garments, all contribute to different forms of environmental pollution. Water, air, and soil are all negatively affected by the production of fashion, making textile dyeing the second largest polluter of water globally. Textile dyeing causes approximately one-fifth of all industrial water pollution (Wicker, 2022). In the dyeing process, vast amounts of water are consumed since water is required in various processing steps, such as during pretreatment, dyeing, printing, and finishing. Polluted water is eventually discarded back into streams and rivers (Samanta et al., 2019). Due to the unsustainable ways products are being made, designers are experiencing an urgency to alter the current way of working and are reprioritising their goals to address the accelerating deterioration of the environment and preserve it for future generations (Myers, 2018). “Biotechnological advancements have the potential to greatly improve the overuse of land, water and environmental degradation overall. Reducing livestock farming, waste, and the use of toxic chemicals can lead to significant cuts in our global carbon footprint” (Espinoza, 2021). Designers are beginning to go beyond the mechanisation of functions, alternatively,
they are observing the living world. Throughout the 20th century, designers relied on physics and chemistry (mechanisation of functions), but now designers are turning towards biologists for their expertise and guidance (Myers, 2018). The interest in using biology in processes is also being explored in the textiles dyeing industry. In the last few years, researchers have been exploring bacteria as a dyeing agent for textiles. Bacterial dyes are 100% natural and free of hazardous chemicals. Colours are achieved by cultivating naturally occurring bacteria for their pigments. Using bacteria to brew dyes in the lab instead of resorting to petrochemicals has proved to be an environmentally friendly and resource-saving way to produce colour, cut down on carbon emissions, and elude expensive mixtures and substances like crude oil (Bellotto, 2021). This desk research will explore whether dyeing with bacteria is a sustainable alternative solution to achieve colourful dyed textiles and how it is currently being explored in the industry. This personal interest in bacterial dyes started in 2021 while doing the Makers Lab minor at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam. Having the opportunity to dye textiles with Janthinobacterium lividum on silk has generated curiosity to better understand the potential behind bacterial dyes on textiles. Additionally, inspired by this research, a bacteria dyed fashion collection will be developed to show the dyed textiles in wearable and functional garments. 5
