Buying leather shoes without feeling guilty? It may soon be possible: scientists are using bacteria to make and dye vegan leather

For example, researchers at Imperial College London have manag to genetically modify bacteria to produce vegan and plastic-free leather, while also giving it a color. This can be read in the journal .

For their study, the scientists us species of bacteria that produce microbial cellulose, a strong, flexible and malleable material. “Bacterial cellulose is vegan and requires a fraction of the carbon emissions, water, land and time involv in raising cows to produce leather,” says researcher Tom Ellis.  can safely break down in the environment without releasing any toxic substances.”

Bacterial cellulose

In short: bacterial cellulose offers many possibilities. And can be us to make sustainable textiles and therefore even an alternative to leather. That in itself is not news; scientists have been experimenting with it for some time.

But they always came up against a problem, as the researchers explain in their study. Because in order to make fabrics or leather made latest phone number database from bacterial cellulose truly sustainable, more sustainable ways must also be found to dye the materials produc by bacteria.

The synthetic dyes that are currently us in the fashion industry are bad for the environment. And the black pigments that are often us to color leather really take the cake in terms of environmental impact. An alternative must also be found for that, the researchers conclude.

How does it work?

And that is what they have been Hoe om die beste promosie-e-posse in 2024 te skryf looking for. With success. Because in their study they reveal that they have succe in adapting cellulose-producing bacteria in such a way that they also ‘dye’ the cellulose they make black.

The researchers start working with bacteria belonging to the species Komagataeibacter rhaeticus . These bacteria naturally asb directory produce cellulose – under the right conditions. In order to get the bacteria to also provide the cellulose with a color, the researchers modifi the DNA of K. rhaeticus . The genetic modifications instruct the microbes that produc cellulose to also produce a black pigment – ​​eumelanin.