Sequins Without Sin: Santa Puts Cellsense's Aradhita Parasrampuria on the Nice List
In this episode, Karl and Erum speak with Aradhita Parasrampuria, founder of CellSense, about revolutionizing the fashion embellishment industry through biology. Aradhita shares her journey from witnessing toxic dye masters in Gujarat textile factories to creating biodegradable sequins, beads, and buttons using algae and bacterial cellulose. She explains how her materials can be produced at room temperature, glow in the dark through bioluminescence, and are manufactured through an automated system that eliminates exploitative manual labor. With one in five garments containing embellishments, CellSense addresses a massive market while tackling microplastic pollution, worker health issues, and the 2027 EU ban on microbeads and lead. Aradhita discusses successful pilots with fashion brands and skincare companies, the challenges of achieving vivid colors and iridescence with biomaterials, and her vision for a circular system where anyone can upload a design and receive custom bioplastic solutions. The conversation explores the intersection of design, biotechnology, and sustainability, demonstrating how biology can create materials that don't just replace plastics—they surpass them.
Chapters:
(00:00:00) - Introduction: Fungi as environmental game-changers
(00:26:18) - Podcast updates and Michael Levin episode highlights
(02:10:35) - Ashley Beckwith and Foray Biosciences: mining fungal biodiversity
(04:57:22) - The untapped power of mycelium in biotechnology
(08:04:15) - Launching the Future is Fungi Award
(08:58:40) - Susanne Gløersen: Why fungi deserve to be core technology
(00:12:09) - Fungi's role in solving climate, pollution, and soil degradation
(00:27:06) - Quickfire questions with Susanne Gløersen
(00:29:14) - Ricky Casini of Michroma: replacing synthetic food dyes with fungi
(00:38:10) - Scaling fermentation capacity in South Korea
(00:38:45) - Pitching fungal colorants to food manufacturers
(00:40:22) - Regulatory wins and transparency in natural colors
(00:41:19) - The future of fungal bio-factories in food production
(00:43:05) - Scaling up production and strategic partnerships
(00:44:09) - Why color matters in consumer packaged goods
(00:45:46) - Winning the Future is Fungi Startup Award
(00:46:59) - Quickfire questions with Ricky Cassini
(00:49:02) - Dr. Britta Winterberg introduces Mycolever's clean beauty mission
(00:50:00) - Fungal bio-compounds replacing petrochemicals in cosmetics
(00:52:10) - Technical challenges and breakthroughs in fungal biotech
(00:59:52) - Quickfire questions with Dr. Britta Winterberg
(01:02:54) - Final reflections on the fungal innovation revolution
Episode Links:
138. Living Textures, Wild Pigments: Suzanne Lee on Nature’s New Aesthetic Toolbox
154. No Trees Were Harmed: Symmetry Wood's Gabe Tavas on Growing Wood from Waste
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