Biofabrication: A sustainable horizon for the fashion world

Abstract

The fashion industry has a high importance on the world stage for several aspects, such as revenue, which has a direct impact on job creation. However, the environmental impact caused by the processes related to the production and disposal of materials in the sector is quite worrying, especially when considering the growth projections for the coming years. To guide a sustainable evolution at a global level in this increase in the productive sector, it is extremely important to take into account the Sustainable Development Goals, which point to the decision-making of companies, increasing the importance of aspects related to environmental, social, and governance. Regarding the solutions to be used in the textile industry, the development of raw materials with sustainable appeal stands out. One of the most promising alternatives for the synthesis of technological materials is the biofabrication, which basically uses fundamentals of biology, materials science, mechanical engineering, among other areas, to design biomaterials that, in the textile context, are innovative in terms of reducing impacts, environmental manufacturing conditions, have easy disposal and similar applicability to the most common materials, such as cotton and leather. In this scenario, biomaterials made from mycelium and bacterial cellulose are at the forefront. In this article, some important aspects related to the biomanufacturing concept and its use in the national and international scenario of the textile industry were explored, mainly directed to the technologies of mycelium and bacterial cellulose, which at the moment, has more notoriety in terms of volume of investments and dissemination. advertising for major global brands.