Kombucha is amazing. I saw another video, where the dried scoby was painted with a mix of mineral oil and wax, and that made it pretty water proof. Other things you can do with extra scobies from making kombucha - you can eat them, make jerky, mash them up and add to garden soil for beneficial bacteria. I just tried that out last summer on a pot of zinnias, and they absolutely exploded with blooms.

@moldybaguette567

4 жыл бұрын

Thought emporium

@GG-yo2tg

3 жыл бұрын

Vinager does prettymuch the Same thing

"imagine growing something consumable", I can't even begin to imagine

@discardedink5994

6 жыл бұрын

benjamunji1 some people actually fry it & eat it

@tylerdurden4248

6 жыл бұрын

benjamunji1 it’s edible they fry is in oil.

@ButtMash1

6 жыл бұрын

jesus have you heard of those "freshwater lakes" too?

@corthew

6 жыл бұрын

Wow! Sounds exactly like that think we do! Unimaginable.

@aureisa6136

6 жыл бұрын

She is speaking about clothes alright?

Hemp absorbs more CO2 than trees and can be used in making plastics, textiles, improved concrete and a fiberglass material. Much better!

@tigertoxins584

3 жыл бұрын

kombucha is more leathery then hemp, as hemp is used for fabrics since its the simplest.

@whocares4583

2 жыл бұрын

Why not both

That jacket or whatever that she is wearing looks like the skin suit from silence of the lambs.

@bruceluiz

4 жыл бұрын

I have grown some kombucha just to get the Komcuha Vinegar and the "skin". Yes it looks astonishingly like human skin because of it transparency and perhaps odd colour, however the smell of "pee" or "fermentation" just distinguishes it right away. However its an intriguing material and quite sturdy for its lightweight and really thin slices. One can be reminded of old swamp reed paper or early age leather

@JacksawWorld

4 жыл бұрын

Bogdan Pirsan yes it does

@JacksawWorld

4 жыл бұрын

:0

Shopping bags.

@cyvilleish13_12

6 жыл бұрын

TravistheHuman YESSSS!! this is the answer

@LNasterio

6 жыл бұрын

but it really need to be durable... as in it needs to handle a lot of weight

@YasuTaniina

5 жыл бұрын

@@LNasterio watch 1 minutes and 30 seconds into this video, it's pretty durable. kzread.info/dash/bejne/m6OjuM6no5e0n9I.html

@linechaay6430

5 жыл бұрын

That would be really expensive

@linechaay6430

5 жыл бұрын

@@YasuTaniina it's not... research this more. I really wanted to use this but it is a bad material

At first I thought it was gross, but then I realized that skinning animals as one of the methods to acquire materials for clothing is ACTUALLY disgusting. I mean, the clothing that is made from this revolutionary process only LOOKS like skin - but as she showed, it can always be dyed. That indigo garment looks just like a jean jacket! I'd wear that.

It was very interesting talk. I think the method developed by Suzanne Lee has great potential .This’s a great way to produce ‘leather’ clothes without cruelty and killing animals. Additionally these clothes don’t contain chemicals that may be dangerous to our health. In my opinion it’s extremely important to take care of the environment and this method of production seems to be harmless. I just can't believe that kombucha has so many uses! Maybe it doesn’t look good but you can drink it and It is very healthy for our body because kombucha is rich in vitamins and minerals.

@vonries

5 жыл бұрын

@The Quantum Institute Holistic Medicine Hundreds of Billions of Microbial deaths just to make a piece no larger than a sheet of paper. At least the cow was going to die anyway to make the burger I ate for lunch. There's no reason to throw away its skin, when someone could have at least made something useful out of it.

@emotophobiccdd8006

4 жыл бұрын

To me, it seems more than probable that there's at least one bug somewhere on earth, or beyond, that can do this. So I thank Suzanne for giving her all, and only hope that many more people try! However, while a breakthrough could happen at any second, it pays to keep in mind that there's lots of impressive, substandard, environmentally friendly products under development, by scientists who seek that elusive one, which ticks all the boxes. I feel like this is the start of a loooonng & frrrrustrating, but worthy journey, which will be, at least to some degree, compromised by such things as chemicals/genetic engineering!

I'd say hemp is far better. It's super easy to grow and harvest. Also hemp wood, used to make houses, is fire resistant.

@creativeamerican8811

4 жыл бұрын

Yes indeed, hemp is also using carbon where as this process releases carbon. Completely deluded idea tbf. You can spin so many different natural resources and by products of them into fabric.. This idea is lazy af and completely stupid.

@creativeamerican8811

4 жыл бұрын

Wool also doesn’t lose temperature when it’s wet.. her stuff can’t even get wet.. It’s so stupid.

@Lilyhourigan

4 жыл бұрын

Hemp is great but there isn't one answer, we need lots of solutions for different applications, experimenting is just part of the beginning.

@tigertoxins584

3 жыл бұрын

what the heck is hemp wood, is that a joke?

@saloni379

3 жыл бұрын

@@creativeamerican8811 well she said it can be great addition to growing demands of textile industry may be it could be used as an alternative to decorative items during weddings where a lot of single use products r used

Suzannes way of thinking is what makes her and her designs so attractive and inspirational as a real innovative designer. Any minor point about wearability she will be able to solve in the near future, no doubt. Just brilliant!

Some sort of glue, like Elmer's, mixed in with her kombucha-based material might work, or rubber tree rubber. You know I find milkweed sap fascinating, there has to be a more varied use for it, besides wart remover.

It can be hydrophobic through plant wax infusion.

I’m growing this right now! Experimentation for fashion is so exciting!

Cool! She does a good job of explaining all of this, very easy to follow, bravo.

this can be used as alternative to single use decorative items ,it has grt scope in indian wedding decorations

I really like the idea of making your own clothes using kombucha fermentation process, its very organic

...you can't wash it.

@melloyellobelly

5 жыл бұрын

You can't wash regular leather either?

@soyhugo390

5 жыл бұрын

just ad coconout oil, bee wax and mineral oil and is waterproof

This is really cool, I would think about using this type of material for building or trying to replace plastic which is just continuing to be piled on land fills. It sucks it isn't water proof, maybe we will find a micro organism that makes a more sturdy material. : )

This is an amazing idea for conceptual fashion.

What about the odor? Does it have a smell? Does it absorb much sweat? I would think this is a bigger drawback than how it behaves in the rain since I can choose to stand in the rain or not. I can't choose not to sweat. I am impressed by the translucency and the stains. I really like the way it looks. When this talk first started I had pretty much figured this would be some nutty, hippie thing -- and it is, a bit, but it looks really interesting. If only the hygrophilous nature could be eliminated. I feel like if I went out on a humid day with a jacket made of this stuff that I'd come back to find it growing into my skin and I'd be unable to remove it. If it's cellulose then can't it be converted to an acetate or treated the same way rayon is made? I believe the process to produce rayon is not very difficult or complex. Then it should be water resistant.

@ZacharyBittner

6 жыл бұрын

Noah Spurrier this is exactly rayon. Only instead of woodpulp, they're using bacteria. The dried bacteria is just cellulose fiber just like rayon production. She's just using kumbucha instead of wood pulp so it's even less environmentally friendly then normal

@celinak5062

6 жыл бұрын

Zachary Bittner does that mean it's as flammable as nylon

@junbh2

6 жыл бұрын

+Celina k Who said anything about nylon??

@ZacharyBittner

6 жыл бұрын

junbh2 I did. They are taking kumbucha bacteria and drying it out. When you do that you create cellulose fibers. When you break down wood pulp you also get cellulose fibers. Only cellulose fibers are water soluble. So they treat it to make it more like a fabric and the result is rayon. So, all these people are doing is starting the process of making rayon.

@junbh2

6 жыл бұрын

+Zachary Bittner I repeat, who said anything about _nylon_? The previous response was comparing it to nylon. Not to rayon (which would make sense as a comparison).

But you still have to grow the tea and sugar first, and they take a lot of time, water and energy to grow.

That was really neat, very fun and interesting concept!

The thought emporium accidentally made water proof kombucha when trying to make it like leather lol

I wish that she would have shown the rigidity of the material. It looked a bit stiff.

@garethbaus5471

6 жыл бұрын

I have experimented with it, it is stiff. It is not very durable either (even when dry)

1. Can one place loose-weave Spectra layers on top of the culture to "incorporate" fabric into the "leather"? OR: 2. Do the same during the part where you place strips on a form? 3. Once dried, can you silicone waterproof it with spray?

The whole talk was not amazing until she got to the end and talked about the possibilities of what we could grow. I don't know why I didn't think about it but that just peaked my interest and got me thinking a lot. Brilliant stuff!

Just completely dry it out and say OK and wax and oil then you’ll have a long lasting water resistancet substance

Alternatives to black tea? Perhaps other components high in tannic acid? Acorns? Coffee? Need something cheaper for scaling up... Any recommendations?

@Toxicflu not necessarily useless - as she says, indoor materials might be a starting place. Besides, with the right coating, it could be made more useful.

good!

Hi Suzanne , I am from Brazil. How is your research with Kombucha leather currently going?

@Zormac and YOU deserve a standing-ovation because you have contributed exactly what?

Tea, sugar, fermentation.. it's Kombucha isn't it? Quite popular actually as a "tea mushroom". I'm looking at one right now at my table, turning a bottle of oversugered tea into a "healthy potion". It's really hard to believe, that she's wearing one of these. It smells a little when it "works" and it surely get's slimy again when it soaks the sweat. It's however totaly awesome, she gave it a shot as a material. Hope for update about making it hydrophobic. Good luck Suzanne!!

Could this be used in agriculture to maintain water in ground in dry areas with low annual rainfall? Absorb the moisture up in the rainy months and allow for a controlled irrigation. That stuff is awesome!

grow our own money?

@josephsulaiman9959

6 жыл бұрын

Masteratadobeother money growing on trees

@kustomTooth

6 жыл бұрын

Yeah it's called weed lol

@PetiteLicorne

6 жыл бұрын

It's called to work and to have a job.

@slothperson78

6 жыл бұрын

CQN APDN I'm sure you know a lot about that lol

@awakenedbyadream3253

4 жыл бұрын

How about get rid of money? Earth gives it to us for free, and she is actually the owner in a sense. Earth never gave us permission to sell her parts. It’s just like when someone wakes up with no kidney, because someone took it, and sold it. Nobody gave them permission, but it was taken and sold anyhow. No difference.

@viralistique by feeding she meant its absorbing her sweat like a cloth would. only this material kinda self destructs by bio-degrading itself once it absorbs it. its not technicly alive.

I intend to use kiddie pools to grow them. The diameter of a large kiddie pool is about the size of a pelt from a beastly animal, 90 cm (35 inches).

Have you tried actually tanning it with milk of lime and vegetable tannins? That and oiling it with a mix of pitch, vegetable gum, and oil mightmake it more durable and waterproof.

How crazy is this. Was just thinking about this today and I was looking at my scoby.

That is freaking incredible! Once she works out how to make it water resistant (at least so that it doesn't fall apart in water) it'll be even better. I wonder how much it costs to make something - would much money be lost in the process of clothing the homeless and so on?

i can change the colour without chemicals, i use iron oxidation. is iron off the periodic table now lol

@ObliviousMiner

6 жыл бұрын

what's jargon about "i can change the colour without using complicated artificial dyes"

@berkaysaldaml8152

6 жыл бұрын

Stephen because iron oxide isnt A chemical right?

@kristopherprevo7078

6 жыл бұрын

That's called an element sweetheart. Not chemical

@kristopherprevo7078

6 жыл бұрын

Cathar Heretic she is obviously talking about chemical compounds not pure forms of the element so she is technically not treating with chemicals bleach or dyes are what she is specifying as the chemical treatment and she is using oxidation. It's far from being "treated chemically"

@kristopherprevo7078

6 жыл бұрын

Cathar Heretic if you want to dive deeper NOTHING CAN CHANGE COLORS WITHOUT SOME FORM OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS.

Couldn't you waterproof it with some oil?

@TheBaconWizard

5 жыл бұрын

Yes you can. You need a hard fat such as coconut oil with a little bees wax mixed in.

Use frequencies to grow the bacteria along with the procedures it takes to make it, because frequency makes everything the way it is.

work in progress. Nice

I want TED in HD :(

What about brazing the material with a torch? Much like the top of a creme brulee it would create texture and give it a more leathery color.

@Toxicflu the current material is but with genetically engineering the microbes to form fibers with specific properties, just as what she said, it would become a good alternative to the common textile materials

Wow it's amazing!

Incredible!

@595o Yes, completely unnecessarily. I doubt a single person at the TED Conference misunderstood her.

Interesting talk

that is so awesome!!!

Is it alkali-soluble? i.e. Can you make it into rayon? Guess the xanthation reagents are a bit undesirable... How much better/worse is a cane sugar based bioreformation process from just growing cotton? Water usage has to be similar and cotton processing is pretty well optimised. Not that I am fundamentally against biosynthesis of textiles in vats, but if your starting material is cane sugar you still need fields of photosynthesizing machines to capture your energy and carbon.

Brilliant. A step in the right direction. Just a few more kinks to solve. If only the industries to make the sugar and acetic acid were also enviro friendly. I would have thought natural waxes does the waterproof thing.

SO COOL!

Bags would be great for the future, instead of paper or plastic, and maybe containers or boxes where you sell your products in. Great step towards the future!

AMAZING!!

If she has a problem with waterproofing, she could just use oil. Maybe not synthetic oil though; it would defeat the purpose of this project.\

Kombucha is really easy to brew also.

Do you need tea if you aren't going to drink it? Can SCOBY grow on just sugar water?

@gaiagale Anytime my friend. Definitely give the peach kombucha a try some day. Peace!

It is a start.

@nellyspageli I believe one is for the audience sound system and the other is for the video recording.

Ok, so how do you make this waterproof? It's great that it is organic but is there something you could apply to it (perhaps even chemical) that would sustain it for a period of time with minimal environmental damage. As I see it, it is still better than slaughtering animals.

As someone already commented. Great plastic bag replacement. If it rips when you get home, who cares. Just like today's paper bags.

"growth bath" AKA "tub"

@GrudgyDiablo It decomposes in water. And it's like, brown. I think I'd notice.

it would leave rather interesting pit stains

@Mochab001

6 жыл бұрын

lol

amazing

@ZenCross1 don't miss the point here, we're talking about her, not me. When the day that I make something public comes, I'll make sure it's groundbreaking, not this crap.

I think I solved her water proofing issue after thinking on this a bit. I might try it out soon.

@carolynmmitchell2240

6 жыл бұрын

Sophisticat using some kind of flexible glue that sets in

@bagofdragonite149

6 жыл бұрын

carolyn mmitchell Keep in mind that most glue is harmful in some way and may offgas chemicals. Also most silicon based molecules allows black mold to grow on it in high humidity situations. The way I had in mind is an additive that is natural, hydrophobic and flexible. She also said she wants the product to be biodegradable and the additive I’m thinking of does degrade over time.

@ZacharyBittner

6 жыл бұрын

It's been solved. She made crappy rayon. Just used bacteria instead of wood pulp

acetic acid, commonly found in vinegar

fascinating

@gaiagale lol I think so. It's that stuff that you make by fermentation and it tastes like mango or peach or whatever flavor you put into it. I only tried it once it's good shit man.

@supercorm sugar cane is the only source of sugar ? she mentioned using our food waste to feed the culture

@thelowmax Hemp that scratchy stuff worse than linen and only used for making ropes and sealing water/heating tubes?

Using scoby from kombucha

Or rubber.

@Nashy119 we can, it's just attached to lots of stakes.

well her point is that there is a technique that has the potential to use sugar and microbes to produce cellulose fabric. This technique needs to be perfected. microbes can be altered to work on different substrates like sugar alcohols or other raw materials (that are waste), also variation is microbes can produce different fabrics. Further study will lead to a more sophisticated process and product. This is not the final product but a prototype .....phew...have to spell out everything....

See how she didn't get a standing ovation? That's because she didn't deserve one.

@Toxicflu How do you know it bio-degrades? looks to me it was already washed and still in good shape?

can you wash it?

I think there's more important to be done..and I feel that this might mimic leather someday if process is improving...it's good for cruelty free things...

У меня давно такое чудо в банке растет, только я его пью, делаю уксус вымораживанием, и тоже давно задумывался о выращивании домов, но много надо сахара. Пока нет времени и денег этим заниматься. А вообще идея очень перспективна и сравнительно дешева. Можно будет попробовать хотя бы вырастить перчатки. Правда я не до конца понял как он себя ведет при повторном намокании (например при стирке). Но можно чем то попробовать стабилизировать. А еще надо как то подумать что бы он рос заданной формы. Частично мне это удалось. Например положить в маленькую баночку - он будет круглый и маленький, а в большую квадратную - большой и квадратный. Можно даже сразу выращивать так сказать с естественными отверстиям. У меня так в одной банке торчала трубочка и я через ней пил квас. Интересно что гриб оброс вокруг трубочки. Т.е. двумерную структуру можно придать осталось подумать как ему придать трехмерную структуру, и как сушить что бы он не коробился. Хотя если сушить под прессом не должен. В общем перспектив у данной технологии масса. Так что наши депутаты могут уже сейчас запретить чайный гриб как и другие биотехнологии. Например как запретили ГМО. Хотя возможно это и не обязательно, т.к. такое до нас не дойдет. Даже видео не кто не удосужился перевести, зато разный треп Илона Маска постоянно переводят. А ведь инфа про биотехнологии была бы на много полезнее. Это могут делать в дома все кто захочет, а Маск и др. трепается о полетах на Марс... В то время как у нас тут скоро будет пустыня, а ведь могли бы взять на вооружение подобные технологии, в т.ч. ГМО и давно бы уже выращивали дома как муравьи. Но куда обезьянам до муравьев, с нашими то мозгами, нам только друг друга дурить да обворовывать... А вот заниматься биотехнологиями, менять мир вокруг себя, нет, пусть это делают микробы, человек разумный не достаточно разумный для того что бы себе позволить такое.

@RareAirSupply yes

There are currently products it could be treated with to make it hydrophobic. That already exists. I'm not sure why she doesn't know this. At that point, it would be a great material possibly for shoes. Also, it would make a unique paper. Imagine business cards you could grow, cut out and then print up. Hmm.

Add bee wax and coconut oil let it get absorbed and there you go water resistant

@yvald1 I would expect to see something like that on any other video but TEDTalks videos. The type of people who usually watch these videos don't resort to tasteless humour.

Nice fashion video

very cool idea, why not? :) I hope thea are able to develop this idea, it really could save nature.

@justicetrooper Sry I said that wrong I didnt mean this could save the nature from everything that people have ever done.Just meant it could save SOME of it,like waters from the toxic chemicals that come from fabric-dyeing cotton factories etc.This material can be coloured with such a little amount of colour, or in fact with nature-dyeing technigues.Of course they'd still need to develop this product,not to break in the water etc,but I think this could be an ecological option to make fashion.:)

Can you help me for producing mushroom lether I am really interested in this.

This reminds me of making sambuca

Wasn't there a liquid recently that you could spray onto surfaces and it would be water repellant? :P

@Toxicflu It is useless now, just like the ancient clothing were, but it is a start of a new process that may succeed.

Amazing, how far are these developments progressing in this time of age in 2017?..

@MinhNguyen_Snap

6 жыл бұрын

www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2017/12/23/this-liberty-university-senior-is-trying-to-grow-his-own-clothes-it-just-might-be-the-fashion-of-the-future/?.f1f5d0401872 I think he's inspired to do the same thing

@kylekelly1167

6 жыл бұрын

these culture is really old ben used to make vinagar for really long time.

Ok so I just had an idea for a sponge material.

great idea but hemp fiber is just as good if not better ,and it can be waterproof.

@PetiteLicorne

6 жыл бұрын

It's the beginning of a new technology, so let's see in the future.

i think a better use of the cellulose is a paper or building material replacement. rather than cutting down huge numbers of trees, we can have bacteria construct fibers for us effectively and organically. but of course fermentations creates carbon dioxide and ethanol...

@Skoenner hehe