The Fashion Industry Needs Microbiology: Opportunities and Challenges

The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world, representing a 2 trillion dollars and growing valuation. Fashion design practices have been perpetuating an industrial-focused approach, which relies mostly in the economic improvement through fast cycles of product development. Additionally, the fashion industry has also been closed to either multidisciplinary or transdisciplinary initiatives outside the scope of the artistic disciplines. Therefore, innovative approaches are needed to solve fashion industrial challenges. One of the most promising fields to tackle current environmental and technological problems in the fashion industry is microbiology. Through the emergent field of synthetic biology, the number of tools and approaches available is increasing and they can already be seen in niche applications. Despite the current advances and urgent need for change, there is still a long way until a more sustainable fashion industry is achieved.