Bioengineering textiles across scales for a sustainable circular economy

Challenges and opportunities•The development of bio-based, recyclable fibers that replicate the materials properties commercial textile fibers.•The timely degradation bioengineered with advanced (e.g., elasticity, wicking) within natural soil marine environments.•A circular economy transforms waste streams into engineered, biodegradable for sustainable textiles. Current production processing practices provide desirable performance properties, such as stretch moisture management, but these processes are leading contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions, microplastic pollution, toxic wastewater. Fortunately, green alternatives current support a transition sustainable, reach. Bioengineering at nano-, micro-, macroscale provides several avenues improve both environmental impacts technical materials. Herein, we an overview recent efforts bioengineer textiles from biopolymer components biofabrication schemes. These include genetic engineering microorganisms biofabrication, chemistry raw materials, manufacturing techniques. This informs discussion on future outlook biotextile production, focus utilization circularity viability processes. IntroductionBiofabrication will play key role in facilitating environmentally destructive linear cradle-to-cradle economy.1World Economic ForumTowards economy: accelerating scale-up across supply chains.2014http://wef.ch/1rvDRDLGoogle Scholar,2Ellen MacArthur FoundationTowards economic business rationale accelerated transition.2012https://www.greengrowthknowledge.org/research/towards-circular-economy-economic-and-business-rationale-accelerated-transitionGoogle Scholar A seeks emulate nature’s cycling, using ecologically benign close minimize material energy loops, central premise infinitely reusing our can make industrialization compatible climate stability. 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Substituting low-percentage dopants otherwise traditional carbon-intensive still significantly reduce impact. substitution renders clothes unrecyclable when included just 1%, dopant instantly dyes mordants generated dyeing positive incorporation further compounded combined bulk opportunity identify and/or modify enhanced yield fed inexpensive nutrients, those obtained streams. extract nutrients agro-industrial additional loops most impactful industries economy.Figure 2Protein approaches textilesShow full captionProtein nanoscale impart properties. feature selected, imparts function identified, finally biosynthesized textile. 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