Embracing bacterial pigments for eco-friendly leather coloring

The use of natural colors sourced from minerals, bugs, flora and fauna has been reported since primeval times. Somewhere in the middle of the nineteenth century, synthetic dyes took over natural colors and still rule the field in spite of its lethal effect to human and ecosystem. Attributes of bacterial pigments, like improved biodegradability and higher compatibility with the habitat, offer promising avenue for their exploitation as a substitute to artificial colors. The current study reports the isolation of bacteria producing different pigments from various ecological niches. The extracted pigments were characterized using various techniques, such as UV–Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, TGA, DSC and particle size analysis. The obtained pigments also exhibited exceptional antimicrobial property. These pigments were further exploited for coloring of crust leather, and revealed remarkable dyeing ability. This study paves way for eco-friendly utilization of bacterial pigments for coloring of leather, in order to reduce the synthetic dye waste emerging from leather industries.