A team of Kent State students were recently honored for their efforts to create a sustainable black dye alternative.
The BioBlack team of Janda Van Dyk (fashion design), Jordan Smith (fashion design), Kirsten Thieman (biology) and Lizeth Ramirez (fashion design) received the Science Award from the BioDesign Challenge Summit 2020.
Currently the fashion industry uses synthetic dye to create the color black, so the team decided to work with bacteria to create a more eco-friendly replacement.
Learn more about BioBlack and view the original article
Image Captions:
- Banner Left: Photo by Alyssa Smith. BioBlack team poses with an incubator with a bacteria-dyed tote bag on the day winners were announced.
- Beanner Right: Photo by Janda van Dyk. A 100% silk dupioni floor-length gown. The purple is Janthino Lividum Bacterium which is the bacteria used in the project.
- Story Photo: Photo by Jordan Smith. The beaker is filled with tannins consisting of leaves and acorns found by the School of Fashion . The team tested a swatch to see how the tannins would change the color of the bacteria after submerging the swatch with the bacteria into the warm water with tannins.