Bacteria Working to Create Sustainable Textile Materials and Textile Colorants Leading to Sustainable Textile Design

Sustainable textile design without harming the environment nowadays is one of the most important issues in the textile industry. Environmental concerns lead various researchers and artists to find and explore the applicability of more sustainable, renewable, and environment-friendly resources for fibers and colorants. In here, bacteria can help us. Microbial (bacterial) cellulose is an organic compound of the formula (C₆H₁₀O₅)_n produced by certain types of bacteria. On the one hand, the material produced by the advancements in the detection and synthesis methods of bacterial cellulose, the resultant bacterial cellulose can be used in a wide range of commercial applications comprising textile, medical, cosmetic, and food applications and products. From the textile point of view, apart from bacterial cellulose production for textile substrates, bacteria can also be utilized for textile coloration. Indeed, bacteria can also produce colored pigments. It is now possible to produce some bacterial pigments for food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and textile applications. For instance, specific bacterial pigments can be used successfully as textile colorants. Therefore, bacteria are now working for us to create sustainable textile materials and textile colorants leading to more sustainable textile design. In this chapter, information about sustainable bacterial cellulose for textile substrates and sustainable bacterial pigments as sustainable textile colorants is given in detail.