Growing colors. Patterning with living pigments.

Growing colors. Patterning with living pigments.

Growing colors. Patterning with living pigments.

According to McKinsey & Company‘s report „Biodiversity: The next frontier in sustainable fashion“ 12–20% of all species are under threat of extinction, with the apparel industry playing a significant role in this biodiversity loss. As the report points out, „the apparel supply chains are directly linked to soil degradation, conversion of natural ecosystems and waterway pollution.“ Water is considered one of the most basic substances used in the production and processing of textiles. To produce and finish 60 billion kilograms of textiles every year, about 35 trillion litres of water are needed. If the fabrics are also dyed, the dyeing process itself requires about 40-65 litres of water per kilogram of product, depending on the fibre and dye. In her film „River Blue“ creative director of Fashion Revolution Orsola de Castro describes the tremendous pollution of waterways by the textile industry in following quote: „There is a joke in China that you can predict the ‚it‘ colour for the season by looking at the colour of the river.“ Since 1856 when Sir William Henry Perkin developed the first synthetic dye, natural dyes rapidly disappeared from the market, which meant to apply high amounts of health and environmental threatening chemicals too. Already in 2010, the textile industry was the world's largest consumer of chemical dyes, with 500 to 600.000 tonnes. After the dyeing process, only 85-90% of the dyestuffs are able to remain in the fabrics with almost all the rest being discharged in waters without neutralization due to lack or disrespect of regulations in countries with the biggest textile industries. This leads to the change of colour de Castro is mentioning. As can be seen in colour spectacles of various waters, colour changes of water are not always caused by men, but can also occur due to bacteria or other microorganisms. Lake Hillier in Australia, Las Coloradas in Yucatán/Mexico or Lake Retba in Senegal, but also lakes like Alatsee in Germany receive a beautiful bright colour caused by microorganisms.


But even if the bacteria are not visible like in those lakes and therefore invisible to the naked eye, they occur everywhere in our environment. You can find them in the air, in the soil, in water, in ice, in plants, in animals and humans. Even though only a small percentage of bacteria found in nature is able to cause illnesses in humans, their image is extremely tarnished. Yet many bacteria carry great potential. While bacteria are increasingly used in the food industry in fermentation processes, they can also play an important role in the textile industry. Not only to neutralize toxins from polluted waters in the dyeing industry, but also for the dyeing process itself.


Chromogene bacteria like those living in the above mentioned waters can be used for dyeing textiles, which is a sustainable, resource- and especially water-saving alternative to traditional dyeing methods, that requires no harmful chemicals. In our project, we demonstrate the possibilities of bacterial pigments for dyeing textiles in different colours, shapes and patterns and illustrate the presence of the bacteria of our environment by revealing their colours. We use pigment bacteria from databases as well as self-collected bacteria from the area of the Johannes Kepler University in Linz. By doing so we aim to create a connection between human and bacteria and a positive image upon them as well as revealing their presence and aesthetic value. Their colours are vivid and appear to be perceived particularly harmonic due to the presence of numerous hues. In our project we use living bacteria to grow on yarns and fabrics as well as extracted pigments from bacteria. Our mission is to enhance the (aesthetic) possibilities of textile bacteria dyeing to generate a broader application field for this technique to be able to compete with other dyeing methods. In combination with traditional and modern technologies we are proposing innovative solutions for working with bacterial pigments. Our project shows that bacterial pigments can be used for dyeing yarns and weaving of multicoloured textiles, but also for transfer printing or reserve techniques with modern technologies like UV- or 3D-printing.


The combination of this resource-saving and environmentally friendly dyeing method with new technologies opens up completely new possibilities to make the world not only more colourful - bluer, yellower or redder - but also a bit „greener“ and thus more sustainable.

According to McKinsey & Company‘s report „Biodiversity: The next frontier in sustainable fashion“ 12–20% of all species are under threat of extinction, with the apparel industry playing a significant role in this biodiversity loss. As the report points out, „the apparel supply chains are directly linked to soil degradation, conversion of natural ecosystems and waterway pollution.“ Water is considered one of the most basic substances used in the production and processing of textiles. To produce and finish 60 billion kilograms of textiles every year, about 35 trillion litres of water are needed. If the fabrics are also dyed, the dyeing process itself requires about 40-65 litres of water per kilogram of product, depending on the fibre and dye. In her film „River Blue“ creative director of Fashion Revolution Orsola de Castro describes the tremendous pollution of waterways by the textile industry in following quote: „There is a joke in China that you can predict the ‚it‘ colour for the season by looking at the colour of the river.“ Since 1856 when Sir William Henry Perkin developed the first synthetic dye, natural dyes rapidly disappeared from the market, which meant to apply high amounts of health and environmental threatening chemicals too. Already in 2010, the textile industry was the world's largest consumer of chemical dyes, with 500 to 600.000 tonnes. After the dyeing process, only 85-90% of the dyestuffs are able to remain in the fabrics with almost all the rest being discharged in waters without neutralization due to lack or disrespect of regulations in countries with the biggest textile industries. This leads to the change of colour de Castro is mentioning. As can be seen in colour spectacles of various waters, colour changes of water are not always caused by men, but can also occur due to bacteria or other microorganisms. Lake Hillier in Australia, Las Coloradas in Yucatán/Mexico or Lake Retba in Senegal, but also lakes like Alatsee in Germany receive a beautiful bright colour caused by microorganisms.


But even if the bacteria are not visible like in those lakes and therefore invisible to the naked eye, they occur everywhere in our environment. You can find them in the air, in the soil, in water, in ice, in plants, in animals and humans. Even though only a small percentage of bacteria found in nature is able to cause illnesses in humans, their image is extremely tarnished. Yet many bacteria carry great potential. While bacteria are increasingly used in the food industry in fermentation processes, they can also play an important role in the textile industry. Not only to neutralize toxins from polluted waters in the dyeing industry, but also for the dyeing process itself.


Chromogene bacteria like those living in the above mentioned waters can be used for dyeing textiles, which is a sustainable, resource- and especially water-saving alternative to traditional dyeing methods, that requires no harmful chemicals. In our project, we demonstrate the possibilities of bacterial pigments for dyeing textiles in different colours, shapes and patterns and illustrate the presence of the bacteria of our environment by revealing their colours. We use pigment bacteria from databases as well as self-collected bacteria from the area of the Johannes Kepler University in Linz. By doing so we aim to create a connection between human and bacteria and a positive image upon them as well as revealing their presence and aesthetic value. Their colours are vivid and appear to be perceived particularly harmonic due to the presence of numerous hues. In our project we use living bacteria to grow on yarns and fabrics as well as extracted pigments from bacteria. Our mission is to enhance the (aesthetic) possibilities of textile bacteria dyeing to generate a broader application field for this technique to be able to compete with other dyeing methods. In combination with traditional and modern technologies we are proposing innovative solutions for working with bacterial pigments. Our project shows that bacterial pigments can be used for dyeing yarns and weaving of multicoloured textiles, but also for transfer printing or reserve techniques with modern technologies like UV- or 3D-printing.


The combination of this resource-saving and environmentally friendly dyeing method with new technologies opens up completely new possibilities to make the world not only more colourful - bluer, yellower or redder - but also a bit „greener“ and thus more sustainable.

Our work consists of around 200 round pieces of fabrics in different qualities from natural to synthetic fibers (Tencel, Lyocell, linen, wool, silk, polyester etc…) of around 80 to 90 mm in diameter. For these samples we tested 8 different strains of bacteria with different pigments and properties in various colours and shapes. In exhibitions they have been placed in petri dishes on a light table. Additional to these samples there’s around 50 samples of 50 x 100mm of size and different qualities, that show different treatments of fabrics before and after the bacteria dyeing process. These samples are dyed with only one bacteria strain and are mounted on engraved acrylic glass plates to be hung in a room. 3 jacquard weave textiles – 150-300cm x 150cm in size – depict the possibilities of using bacteria coloured yarns for creating woven multicoloured fabrics in different pattern designs. Used yarns are Lyocell and Tencel dyed with 5 different strains of bacteria. A video, bacteria dyed lab coats and posters are additional adds to the work.

Our work consists of around 200 round pieces of fabrics in different qualities from natural to synthetic fibers (Tencel, Lyocell, linen, wool, silk, polyester etc…) of around 80 to 90 mm in diameter. For these samples we tested 8 different strains of bacteria with different pigments and properties in various colours and shapes. In exhibitions they have been placed in petri dishes on a light table. Additional to these samples there’s around 50 samples of 50 x 100mm of size and different qualities, that show different treatments of fabrics before and after the bacteria dyeing process. These samples are dyed with only one bacteria strain and are mounted on engraved acrylic glass plates to be hung in a room. 3 jacquard weave textiles – 150-300cm x 150cm in size – depict the possibilities of using bacteria coloured yarns for creating woven multicoloured fabrics in different pattern designs. Used yarns are Lyocell and Tencel dyed with 5 different strains of bacteria. A video, bacteria dyed lab coats and posters are additional adds to the work.

https://ars.electronica.art/newdigitaldeal/en/growing-colors/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWc3hDAV1Qs

www.growingcolor.at

For many years now synthetic dyes have been praised for their brilliance, lightfastness, modernity, and above all for their low manufacturing costs. For the same price, one could buy ninety times the amount of the synthetic red dye alizarin compared to the plant dye madder. Moreover, the synthetic dyes were so sought after because coal tar was needed for their production, which was a waste product. From an ecological point of view, this could actually be convincing, if aniline dyes had not brought other major shortcomings. Their influence on the health of the wearers and workers involved in the manufacturing process are particularly critical. Not only in the production of synthetic dyes, but also to optimise the colour result on the fabric, many chemicals are needed. Therefore, synthetically produced dyes may not only contain petrol, nitrobenzene nitrobenzene or aniline, but also derivatives whose toxins can have effects on the skin, the blood and the central nervous system. Many of the green dyes (11% of the textiles tested, according to a report from 1904), for example, contained the poison arsenic. In 1875, Dr. Alfred Swaine Taylor warned of the dangers of arsenic poisoning when workers and wearers inhaled the fumes or absorb the toxins through the skin. Even Perkin had to admit that the use of mercury salts, as he used them for new methods for the production of magenta, produced high quality colour results, but had a negative impact on the health of workers. Many years after their discovery dyes such as fuchsine or auramine or those based on benzidine or 2-naphthylamine were linked to bladder cancer. Since 1974 member companies of ETAD have been issuing safety data sheets which provide information on the risks of dyes. However, dyes of concern can still be detected in tests. A campaign carried out by Greenpeace revealed, that two out of 141 garments still contain carcinogenic ingredients from azo dyes. Azo dyes are generally considered to be particularly hazardous to health. The same applies to the mordant chromium, which was much sought after because it kept the dyes remained in the fabric for a particularly long time. Not to be neglected are also the chemicals necessary for the preparation and post-processing. Even though, modern chemicals are largely fixed in the fabrics and therefore the risk of harm is lower (at least for the wearer), the effects on the environment are all the more devastating, which ultimately comes back to each individual again since groundwater is already starting to be contaminated. Since the totality of the flowing water of the world was or will be groundwater at a point, this is a bitter realization. If groundwater is contaminated, all the water in the world will be contaminated at some point.



Unfortunately, however, a return to natural dyes is not a viable alternative due to the use of mordants or other dyeing aids, which can be equally hazardous to health and the environment. Also in terms of energy and resource consumption, there is not much difference to dyeing with synthetic dyes. In addition, large areas of land and often a lot of pesticides are required or used for the manufacture and production of natural dyes, and the cultivation and extraction is time-, cost- and labour-intensive. All factors, that would lead to an outsourcing of production to countries, where there are less stringent regulations and where costs are lower.


BUT: Since textiles, clothes and the use of colours and dyestuffs is a topic, that concerns every single person on earth and is linked to one of the biggest industries of the world, there’s a big urgency on finding alternatives, that help to keep our environment and therefore ourselves healthy. The industries are looking for bio-pigments with these properties for a long time.


Possible answers might lie in the microcosmos. Bacteria offer an answer to these open questions. While they are increasingly used in the food industry in fermentation processes, they can also play an important role in the textile industry. Not only to neutralize toxins from polluted waters in the dyeing industry, but also for the dyeing process itself. Their advantage over synthetic and natural dyes is that they need only little space to grow, replicate themselves when only a little amount of nutrition is added (which can be even bio-waste-materials), their growth-process takes only a few hours or days and no harmful chemicals have to be used. Furthermore the dyeing process with living bacteria needs almost no water, some bacteria can even colour synthetic yarns and materials (for other dyestuffs this would require a lot of chemicals or wouldn’t be possible at all) and with many bacteria and pigments used almost no sewage is created. Regarding lightfastness and brilliance or colour spectrum, bacterial pigments are less effective than synthetic dyestuffs, but synthetic biology can be an answer to this.


In our project we use living bacteria to grow on yarns and fabrics as well as extracted pigments from bacteria. While using pigment producing bacteria from databases, we also collected our own pigment bacteria from the surrounding of the Johannes Kepler University in Linz and made visible the yet invisible colours around us. Therefore we are creating a connection between humans and bacteria. They seem to be invisible to the naked eye and yet they occur everywhere in our environment. Our project focusses especially on the creation of a realistic, but appealing image of bacteria and make clear, that only a small percentage of bacteria found in nature is able to cause illness in humans. Furthermore our mission is to enhance the (aesthetic) possibilities of textile bacteria dyeing to generate a broader application field for this technique to be able to compete with other dyeing methods.

In combination with traditional and modern technologies we are proposing innovative solutions for working with bacterial pigments. Our project shows that bacterial pigments can be used for dyeing yarns and weaving of multicoloured textiles, but also for transfer printing or reserve techniques with modern technologies like UV- or 3D-printing. The world needs satisfying methods for the people and for the environment. But it needs methods that can still fulfill human’s desires. That’s what we are showing within this project at the intersection of art, design and science.