2025 Cannes Lions
Innovation
Bronze Lion
Living Fabric
A biodegradable textile solution restoring oil-contaminated land across Colombia
- Office
- Colombia
- Client
- Atratus
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, more than 1,000 significant land-based oil spills occur each year in Colombia.
Atratus, in collaboration with University of the Andes and VML Bogotá, created Living Fabric, a textile inoculated with Lysinibacillus Sphaericus, a bacteria that has the extraordinary capacity to feed on oil and that, when in contact with land environments contaminated with hydrocarbons, is capable of biodegrading them in just 30 days through a process called bioremediation.
Every year, oil spills cause irreversible damage to ecosystems—contaminating millions of hectares of soil. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, more than 1,000 significant land-based oil spills occur annually in Colombia, destroying habitats and threatening countless species. They ruin the environment we live in and the nature we love to explore.
A desire to protect Colombia’s remarkably diverse natural ecosystems by combining science, sustainability and design into an accessible, scalable solution.
VML Bogotá and Atratus developed Living Fabric—a 100% biodegradable textile designed to absorb oil spills and restore damaged land. This innovative solution is:
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Crafted with fique plant fibers
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Infused with Lysinibacillus Sphaericus, a naturally occurring microorganism
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Lightweight and portable, it stores 33 square meters of fabric per box
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Enables clean-up of even the most remote terrains
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Absorbs contamination while accelerating soil restoration
