Econews

Textile inks based on natural proteins

Natural proteins were never so attractive, thanks to Werewool a biotech startup looking for more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives, using natural proteins instead of toxic and polluting dyes.

The inspiration came from the discovery that the fluorescent proteins of a coral could be used to give color to tissues, these proteins are used by scientists to mark samples in research.

Based on this principle, they were able to apply it to textiles by manipulating the DNA structure of the proteins to obtain a wide range of colors.

It is known that the textile dyeing process is a source of pollution, in the countries where most of the clothes are produced, even though they have laws prohibiting pollution, you can see the devastation caused as around the Citarum River in Indonesia, where hundreds of textile factories along its banks have caused great devastation.

Werewool produces the coloring proteins using microbes in bioreactors, without resorting to environmentally harmful practices, so they degrade safely and biodegradably.

Werewool presents us with a vision that could represent a significant change in the way we imagine the coloring of our garments, thanks to the sustainable and environmentally friendly approach offering new possibilities to improve the functionality of textiles. If it is possible for fashion and sustainability to coexist harmoniously.

What Werewool shows us goes beyond the coloration of fabrics, due to its focus on protein engineering, some natural organisms possess properties that could be adapted to new textiles, such as water impermeability, elasticity, or antimicrobial properties.

Werewool is committed to a circular life cycle, returning nutrients to the ecosystem at the end of their useful life and protecting biodiversity (Earth's greatest resilience to climate change) from the effects of microplastic pollution. By creating fibers with inherent color, they avoid the pollution associated with conventional textile dyes that cause dead zones in rivers, streams, and other freshwater resources.

If you are interested in reading more about this biotechnology, please visit their website https://www.werewool.bio/

13 de Junio, 2023