Scientists create plastic-free vegan leather that dyes itself, grown from bacteria

Researchers at Imperial College London have genetically engineered bacteria to grow animal- and plastic-free leather that dyes itself.

In recent years, scientists and companies have started using microbes to grow sustainable textiles or to make dyes for industry—but this is the first time bacteria have been engineered to produce a material and its own pigment simultaneously.

Synthetic chemical dyeing is one of the most environmentally toxic processes in fashion, and black dyes—especially those used in coloring leather—are particularly harmful. The researchers at Imperial set out to use biology to solve this.