Living Circular Labels (LCLs)

What if living organisms communicated signals from the environment to us and thereby offered a sustainable alternative to electronic sensors?
Within the field of biodesign, designers and scientists are collaborating with living organisms to produce new
materials with ecological benefits. The company Hoekmine, in collaboration with designers, has been
researching the potential of flavobacteria for producing sustainable colorants to be applied on everyday
products. These non-harmful bacteria can change their form, texture and iridescent color in response to
diverse environmental factors, such as humidity and temperature. Here, billions of cells are sensing and
integrating the results as color. Therefore, Hoekmine envisions biosensors, which would minimize the use of
increasingly demanded electronic sensors, and thus, the implementation of scarce and toxic materials.
Developing a living sensor by hosting flavobacteria in a biobased and biodegradable flexible material offers
opportunities for sustainable alternatives to electronic sensors. Aiming to take this concept to the next level,
we propose a research collaboration between Avans, Hoekmine and a company specialized in biobased and
biodegradable labels, Bio4Life. Together with this interdisciplinary team, we aim to bridge microbiology and
embodiment design, and contribute to the development of a circular economy where digital technology and
organic systems merge in the design of Living Circular Labels (LCLs). Throughout the project we will use an
iterative approach between designing and testing LCLs that host living flavobacteria and additionally,
methods for the end user to activate the bacteria’s growth at a given time.