Replacing chemistry with biology:
Back in 2013, [Jim] Ajioka was looking at ways of monitoring water pollution with another researcher, Orr Yarkoni. When the pair realised that much of the water pollution in Nepal and Bangladesh came from the dyeing of textiles, they started thinking about how to reduce it.
Their solution is to use genetically modified bacteria or yeast to “grow” dyes, instead of manufacturing them from chemicals derived from fossil fuels. Ajioka and Yarkoni founded Colorifix in 2016 to commercialise the process.
Some of the colours produced by the modified microbes are pigments long used for dyeing, such as the indigo that gives denim its colour. Others are novel dyes never used before, such as a reddish pigment found in a mould [sic?] that can grow in showers. [“Dyes made by microbes could reduce the environmental impact of clothes,” Michael Le Page, NewScientist (22 February 2025, paywall)]
Fascinating stuff from a science perspective. But they mention Bangladesh, where traditional methods, deadly as they may be, also provides employment for a large sector of the company:
In 2012 the textile industry accounted for 45% of all industrial employment in [Bangladesh] …
The NS article doesn’t address how a microbe-driven dyeing industry would affect employment.
