IN LIVING COLOR

Can bacteria-based pigments offer a new path for fashion

sustainability?

By Keyra Mendoza, Yulia Strokova

Photo courtesy of Tintte

Inside research laboratories in Córdoba and Rosario, Argentina, petri dishes filled with colorful bacterial colonies sit beneath fluorescent lights. Some produce deep blues, others muted greens and soft grays.

For Magalí Mendez, a biodesign researcher, these bacteria-based pigments represent more than a scientific experiment. They may hold the key to reimagining textile dyeing, one of fashion's most resource-intensive and polluting processes. The industry is estimated to generate roughly 20 percent of global industrial wastewater, releasing dye-laden effluent and processing chemicals into waterways while consuming vast amounts of water and energy.

Magalí witnessed these challenges firsthand while working with companies in product and footwear manufacturing across Argentina. Increasingly frustrated by the lack of sustainable alternatives, her research offered an opportunity to rethink the dyeing process entirely.

"If I can't find alternative materials for everything that I'm doing," she says, "maybe I am the one that can produce or develop these materials."

Rodrigo Asili, Magalí Mendez and Gustavo Freytes | Photo courtesy of Tintte

Later, Magalí met Gustavo Freytes and Rodrigo Asili. At the time, Rodrigo had assembled a collection of bacterial strains capable of producing a variety of natural byproducts, including color pigments. Together, the three founded Tintte, now commercially headquartered in Miami, to bring their laboratory innovation to the global textile market.

Rather than relying on synthetic dyes derived from petrochemicals, Tintte cultivates naturally pigmented microorganisms in controlled environments. The company then transforms those microorganisms into a stable pigment powder that can be used in textile manufacturing.

Today, the company has built a biobank of more than 130 microorganisms capable of producing a wide range of colors and shades. According to the company, its bacterial fermentation process reduces water and energy consumption by 50 percent compared with conventional dyeing methods. The process also eliminates many of the auxiliary chemicals commonly used in textile coloration.

In spite of these promising early results, questions remain about how bacteria-based pigments will perform at commercial scale. Tintte is still conducting pilot projects, and the company continues to work with manufacturers to test color fastness, production efficiency and compatibility across different materials. The team knew that environmental benefits alone would not persuade manufacturers to change long-established processes.

"We needed to be able to develop a technology that could be easily adopted," Magalí says. "If it couldn't be easily adopted by manufacturers, it was not an option."

Unlike other natural alternatives like vegetable dyes or native plants that often do not fuse well with synthetic fabrics, the company's pigments have already been tested on nylon and polyester, as well as natural fibers like wool and silk. 

The company has seen increasing interest in its methods. Currently, Tintte is conducting pilot projects with manufacturers in Argentina, Portugal, India, Pakistan, and China while working with fashion brands interested in lower-impact alternatives. Through these networks, companies can test Tintte's pigments on their own fabrics and evaluate performance using their existing quality standards before considering wider adoption.

For Magalí, those partnerships have helped bridge the gap between laboratory research and the realities of global textile production. They’ve also generated growing interest from the industry.

"We are now at the stage where we have more demand than we can supply," she adds.

Photo courtesy of Tintte

While brands are increasingly interested in sustainable alternatives, moving from curiosity to adoption remains a slower process. Manufacturers must evaluate performance, costs, and integration into existing workflows before committing to new technologies.

Yet the pressure for change is increasingly coming from brands themselves. As companies face growing demands for transparency, traceability, and environmental accountability, many are actively exploring alternatives to conventional dyeing methods and pushing their suppliers to do the same.

“Brands need to know what materials they're using, what chemicals are in their supply chains, and how those products are made. With new regulations and growing demands for transparency, they don't really have another option.”

Consumers should take heed as well. Rather than limit the conversation around clothing to fashion trends and sustainability claims, Magalí argues that people  should increasingly give the same scrutiny to the chemicals in their garments as they do to the ingredients in their food and skincare products.

“Our clothing is in contact with our skin every day, yet most people don't know how many chemicals may still be present in the fabrics they wear. If we're truly focused on wellness and living healthier lives, then avoiding unnecessary chemicals in everything we use, including our clothing, is part of being healthy," she says.

That growing awareness of what goes into everyday products is helping drive interest in safer, more sustainable textile alternatives. Just a few years ago, the technology behind Tintte's bacterial pigments existed primarily in the laboratory. Today, the company is testing its pigments with manufacturers around the world and working to scale production to meet growing demand. For Magalí, that progress is reason for optimism.

"I know it's a matter of time," she says. "The change is happening. It's just a matter of when it is going to happen."