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Main Problem
The fashion industry generates 90+ million tons of textile waste every year. Much of this comes from clothes discarded due to small rips, holes, or fraying—long before their true lifespan ends. This not only burdens landfills, but also wastes resources, chemicals, and labour involved in making each piece.
Proposed Solution
Imagine fabrics that self-heal: clothes infused or coated with engineered microbes that produce structural biomaterials on demand. When activated—by washing, spraying with a specific trigger, or exposure to moisture—these microbes secrete fibres that patch up small damage, restoring fabric integrity without needing full replacement.
Who It Benefits
• Consumers → save money since clothes last longer.
• Environment → reduced textile waste and resource depletion.
• Fashion Industry → opportunity for truly sustainable innovation.
• Tech/Startups → potential to pioneer bio-based clothing solutions.
• Uniform Users → school children, security personnel, healthcare staff, and others in uniforms benefit from extended durability of everyday wear.
Why This Problem Matters
Fast fashion is a major driver of pollution, overuse of water and chemicals, and excessive waste. Items are often discarded after only months of use. Extending clothing life not only conserves resources but also reduces carbon footprint, mitigates microplastic shedding, and promotes more ethical production practices.
Technical Details
• Komagataeibacter xylinus: produces bacterial cellulose, a strong, flexible fibre-like biomaterial.
• Bacillus subtilis: capable of forming biofilms and secreting structural proteins to reinforce fabric at weak points.
• Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast): can be engineered to make silk-like or elastin-like proteins to allow elasticity and durability.
Design concept: microbes are embedded in a dormant state, activated by a trigger (e.g. spray or wash), perform repair, then return to inactivity.
