Current project

Overview

With our project "KlothY" we present a pioneering approach of promoting sustainable alternatives in the textile industry. Our main goal is the development of an innovative textile material that, unlike conventional raw materials such as cotton, does not require extensive cultivation or chemical processing but is directly synthesized via a co-culture of bacteria and yeast. Through the associated modification of conventional processing and distribution steps, we aim to reduce the environmental impact for textile production.

Background

From towels to lab coats, textiles are ubiquitous in our daily lives as they are essential for human needs. The traditional large-scale cultivation of textile raw materials such as cotton, linen, or hemp, and their processing into textile products, has a solid foundation in the textile industry. However, this traditional approach poses a variety of ecological and ethical challenges. With the continuous increase in clothing consumption, the demand for ecologically relevant land and limited water resources also rises - a trend exacerbated by the growing demand for fast-fashion products. Furthermore, the production and disposal of plastic-based textiles such as nylon and polyester, also known as synthetic textiles, contribute to the emission of greenhouse gases and microplastics. In response to these challenges, there is an immediate need to develop and expand ecological production processes to minimize the depletion of natural resources, as well as the release of environmentally harmful chemicals into ecosystems. In line with environmental and social concerns, alternative bio-textiles have already been introduced, with a focus on cultivating raw materials and chemical processing into textile fibers without the use of pesticides and under fair working conditions. 

With our project, we aspire to tackle these challenges from various angles: Our goal is not only to minimize the extensive cultivation of raw materials, which leads to substantial water consumption and the overexploitation of nutrient reservoirs. We also aim to decrease the emission of pollutant-based chemicals by eliminating certain textile finishing processes. Finally, we seek to meet the demand for textiles in sufficient quantities without perpetuating the detrimental effects of global supply chains. This includes mitigating the significant CO2 emissions resulting from distribution networks between companies and their suppliers, which are heavily reliant on specific cultivation locations.

Our Solution

Given the growing demand and necessity for an equivalent, sustainable alternative in textile production, we have decided to develop a synthetic textile material called "KlothY". For the structural basis of our textile fabric, we harness the ability of the bacterial organism K. xylinus to produce bacterial cellulose (BC) mats - a polysaccharide consisting of long chains of glucose molecules which are also a major component of conventional cotton. The uniqueness of "KlothY" lies in incorporating strands of Hemicellulose (HC), which is synthesized by the yeast S. cerevisiae, into the growing BC mat. The cellulose strands of the raw material are cross-linked on the formed HC framework, providing the bacterial textile membrane with increased elasticity, akin to a sticky spider web, thereby having a fabric without the need for downstream processes of ginning, carding and spinning for cotton. Through further incorporation of cultivation parameters in both organisms, the ratio of hemicellulose to cellulose can be regulated according to specific requirements, such as stability, flexibility, and water resilience. Additionally, plasmids carrying the genes for three chromoproteins - cyan blue, magenta and yellow - will be transformed into S. cerevisiae. By constructing the expression system using titratable inducers for the three color-coding genes, the resulting color of our textile fabric is determined by the mixing ratio of synthesized chromoproteins that bind to the cellulose fibers, via cellulose binding domains (CBD). 

Due to these regulated properties - elasticity, stability, and coloration - "KlothY" not only represents a more sustainable version of conventional textile fabrics but also expands the versatile use of cellulose through the adaptive modification by HC and chromoproteins, providing a promising outlook for the future of the textile industry.