Reimagining Hygiene in water crisis

BactoBerries

At Haeckels, we’re always seeking inspiration, and this week it came from the Central Saint Martins final showcase. The project featured, "BactoBerries," was developed by Debarati Das during her master's in Biodesign.

In response to the impending global water crisis, the 'BactoBerries' project by Debarati Das reimagines hygiene practices by challenging conventional methods reliant on water and chemicals. While traditional hygiene focuses on removing contaminants, 'BactoBerries' instead promote the proliferation of beneficial bacteria on the skin. This fosters innovative engagement patterns among users, proposing a paradigm shift in how we define 'hygiene'.

"BactoBerries" employs a 'self-cleansing mechanism' of the human skin by using topical prebiotic nutrients and probiotics to foster a balanced skin microbiome, enhancing natural immunity without water-intensive methods, distinct from traditional cleansing practices. 

For the packaging Debarati’s project adopts fruit-inspired design to symbolise abundance and positivity, while tackling water scarcity as a global issue. The project utlisises film-forming, biocompatibility, and encapsulating abilities present within bacterial levan from Bacillus licheniformis combined with food waste as part of a circular design process to package the skincare formulations. 

The first multi-purpose prototype, Bacto 'Pops', is a fruit-shaped cleanser featuring a natural scrub and a probiotic moisturising bar with micro-encapsulated Lactobacillus bulgaricus. These components are encapsulated within a biofilm made from husk and seed mucilage and bacterial levan that disintegrates upon use. Encased in a colourful shell made from food waste.