Biobased Pigments and Dyes: Shaping a Sustainable Future

Many industries rely on pigments, dyes, and inks to bring their products and packaging to life, from textiles and cosmetics to food and beverages. However, the pigment industry has become one of the most polluting industries in the world, contaminating healthy water bodies and contributing to climate change.

Fortunately, multiple companies are now developing “bio-based pigments” to make the color industry more eco-friendly, efficient, and sustainable.

Could bio-based inks and dyes benefit your business? Let’s find out!

In this article, you’ll learn what bio-based pigments are and how they compare to traditional pigments. Additionally, you’ll discover 7 innovative companies providing sustainable bio-based dye solutions.

What are Bio-based Pigments?

Bio-based pigments, dyes, and inks are natural colorants derived from renewable sources, such as plants, minerals, animals, or microorganisms. Although bio-based pigments have been around for some time, their presence in the ink industry has been growing recently, as they may offer a more sustainable and non-toxic alternative to synthetic pigments.

Why Choose Biobased Pigments Over Traditional Alternatives?

Natural pigments were used for centuries, but this changed with the discovery of synthetic dyes in the mid-19th century. Since then, synthetic dyes have become the go-to choice for most businesses due to their affordability and extensive color range.

So, why would companies opt for biobased pigments now?

Let’s explore why bio-based pigments may represent a compelling alternative for businesses:

Sustainability

Around 44% of consumers say they are more likely to buy from sustainable brands, making sustainable products an increasing market need. And biobased pigments offer a great opportunity to make multiple products more sustainable.

While synthetic dyes are derived from non-renewable sources like petroleum, biobased pigments come from renewable sources or agro-industrial waste. As a result, natural pigments are less toxic and have a lower environmental impact than synthetic pigments.

Simply put, biobased pigments have a lower carbon footprint, conserve water, reduce agricultural waste, protect human health, prevent water pollution, and reduce reliance on fossil-based materials.

Performance

In terms of performance, bio-based inks and dyes don’t compromise on quality either. With recent technological breakthroughs, bio-based pigments now offer results that are on par with, or even superior to, synthetic dyes and inks.

For example, a recent study showed that bio-based pigments from microbial fermentation can achieve superior color stability and durability. But that’s not all. Thanks to their antimicrobial and bioactive properties, they can even extend the product’s shelf life and replace other raw materials.

Similarly, another study highlighted how bio-based pigments derived from both industrial waste and microbial fermentation can provide vibrant colors and stable, long-lasting coatings. And what's more impressive, they can even improve the coating’s durability when exposed to harsh environments.

Just like synthetic pigments, bio-based inks and dyes can be useful for a wide range of industries, but without the associated environmental costs.

Which Industries Could Benefit from Biobased Pigments?

With sustainability on the rise, many industries can benefit from biobased pigments, inks, and dyes to make their products safer and more appealing to conscious consumers. That said, a few industries could benefit the most from these eco-friendly solutions, including:

Pharmaceuticals

Because of their medicinal properties, some bio-based pigments have already outperformed synthetic colors in the pharmaceutical industry. Besides providing vibrant colors, bacterial pigments are safe for humans and provide anti-cancer, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties.

Textile Industry

Synthetic textile dyes are responsible for approximately 20% of global water pollution and may pose significant health risks to individuals who come into direct contact with them, from workers to consumers. Luckily, bio-based dyes offer a more sustainable solution to create vibrant and non-toxic designs on garments.

Paints and Coatings

Conventional paints and coatings typically contain around 40-65% volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These compounds can trigger multiple health problems and are harmful to the environment. Paints and coatings made from bio-based pigments are usually free of VOCs, providing a safe and sustainable alternative for consumers. Bio-based coatings are suitable for a wide range of applications, including furniture coatings, wall paints, automotive coatings, floor coatings, and more.

Packaging

Many businesses are now using bio-based pigments in their packaging, particularly soy-based ink, instead of petroleum-based ink. With this simple change, companies can offer a captivating, sustainable packaging solution to their customers.

These are just a few examples of how bio-based pigments can replace conventional dyes and inks. However, eco-friendly pigments have the potential to transform a wide range of industries, including art supplies, cosmetics and personal care, food and beverage, and beyond.

7 Innovative Startups Offering Sustainable Dye Solutions

When it comes to biobased pigments, there are seven leading startups offering innovative solutions to transform the ink industry:

PILI Bio: Bio-based Indigo

PILI Bio is a French company using industrial fermentation and green chemistry to create innovative, high-performance biobased dyes. One of the company's standout products is their biobased indigo, a sustainable alternative to conventional petro-based indigo.

Unlike traditional indigo dyes that require toxic chemicals, Pili’s biobased indigo uses plant-based sugars and microorganisms in a fermentation process that is similar to making beer. With this process, biobased indigo generates 50% fewer carbon emissions while matching the dyeing performance of synthetic indigo.

Additionally, Pili’s biobased indigo is fade-resistant and can be seamlessly integrated into existing supply chains without disrupting current processes. It can be used for denim, dyes, inks, paints and coatings, pigments, and textiles.

Borregaard: Pigment Dispersants

Borregaard is a Norwegian company that produces eco-friendly biochemicals, offering sustainable alternatives to traditional oil-based products. Among their offerings are biobased pigment dispersants, which can enhance pigment performance.

Borregaard’s pigment dispersants modify the rheology of aqueous systems for both organic and inorganic pigments, like carbon black and iron oxides. These biobased dispersants can accelerate the milling process, stabilize the dispersion, and enable increased loading.

According to the company, the dispersion power of their wood-based biopolymers is significantly higher than polyacrylic acid, a synthetic polymer. Additionally, these biobased dispersants are water-soluble, non-toxic, and safe to use.

Oceanium: Ocean Ink®

Ocean Ink® from Oceanium® is a fully biodegradable water-based ink derived from sustainably sourced seaweed. Unlike traditional solvent-based inks made from toxic chemicals, Ocean Ink® is made from biodegradable components that are safe for both humans and wildlife.

Besides offering a non-toxic alternative to traditional inks, this sustainable water-based ink stands out for its vibrant and long-lasting printing. Available in gold and black, it can be used for screen printing on apparel, fabrics, boxes, hang tags, labeled products, flyers, business cards, posters, and more. Furthermore, it serves as both a pigment and a binder, removing the need for extra binders in applications.

Octarine Bio: PurePalette™

Octarine Bio is a biotech startup known for developing bio-based solutions across various industries. With their leading product PurePalette™, the company offers a broad spectrum of sustainable, biobased dyes that can be applied to both natural and synthetic fibers. 

What makes PurePalette™ stand out is their wide range of colors, which can be mixed to create unique, custom shades. Additionally, companies can integrate this eco-friendly solution into their supply chain without changing their existing infrastructure or processes.

Thanks to their proprietary enzyme technology, the company creates non-toxic biobased dyes that use less water and energy while generating fewer emissions.

Seprify: SkyWhite™

Seprify is a biotech startup that creates cellulose-based materials. The company transforms pulp, agrofibers, recycled sources, and industrial side streams into a natural white pigment. Their flagship product, SkyWhite™, can be used as an opacifier, emulsifier, texturizer, rheology modifier, or pigment.

SkyWhite™ is a highly versatile material and can be integrated into a wide range of formulations, including coatings and paints, cosmetics and personal care, food, inks, pet food, pharmaceuticals, textiles, packaging, and much more.

Chromologics: Natu.Red®

Chromologics is a Copenhagen-based biotech company that relies on fungal fermentation to create sustainable, biobased pigments. While their most popular product, Natu.Red®, is dedicated to food and beverage manufacturers, they also create biobased pigments for other industries, such as textiles and cosmetics.

To create their Natu.Red® pigment, the company ferments fungus with sugar and other nutrients. After the fermentation, they filter away the fungus. The result of this process is a vibrant red color that’s tasteless and odorless. These properties make Natu.Red® a sustainable solution for a variety of products, including plant-based meats, regular meat, seafood, poultry, beverages, snacks, spices, soups, sauces, pet food, and much more.

Nature Coatings: BioBlack TX™

Nature Coatings is an award-winning biochemicals company based in the United States. The company creates certified bio-based black pigments and dispersions. For instance, BioBlack TX™ — their flagship product — is a water-based dispersion containing a proprietary black pigment.

Made from FSC-certified pre-consumer industrial wood waste, BioBlack TX™ works as a non-toxic replacement for petroleum-derived carbon black. It provides a solid black with a blue undertone and keeps the color vibrant even under prolonged light exposure, making it ideal for screen and rotary printing, denim, leather and non-leather coatings, pigment dyeing, paint applications, and more.

Unlike carbon black pigments and dispersions, BioBlack TX™ has an 85% lower carbon footprint and is capable of storing carbon.

Challenges in Scaling Biobased Dye Adoption

There’s no doubt that bio-based pigments, dyes, and inks have the potential to make the ink industry more environmentally friendly. However, they still have a long path to success. While synthetic pigments have dominated the ink industry for over a century, biobased pigments are still in the early stages of adoption.

Therefore, biobased pigments still need to overcome several challenges to achieve widespread adoption:

●      Higher costs and limited availability: There are few bio-based pigment options currently on the market, and their production often involves advanced technologies, making them more expensive than synthetic pigments.

●      Production capacity: While synthetic pigments are suitable for industrial-scale production, most biobased startups have limited production capacity as they are still scaling their operations.

●      Lack of established frameworks: The absence of a clear framework to define “bio-based” pigments may lead to mistrust regarding their true composition and safety.

Despite these challenges, there’s still room for growth.

Collaboration between manufacturers, pigment producers, and technology providers can help scale up the development and adoption of biobased pigments. Pigment producers can also take advantage of third-party certifications to back up their claims and build customer trust. But more importantly, the growing pressure from conscious consumers and regulatory bodies is expected to push businesses toward using safer and more environmentally friendly pigments, inks, and dyes.

Final Thoughts

Biobased pigments, inks, and dyes present an innovative opportunity to make the color industry more sustainable and safe. Not only do they provide multiple environmental benefits, but they also protect human health and wildlife.

Thanks to their innovative processes, many biotech startups have developed high-performance pigments for a wide range of applications, accelerating the transition toward a more eco-conscious ink industry.