Having grown up in Gujarat, India—a textile production region—Aradhita Parasrampuria, BFA Fashion Design ’20, MFA Textiles ’22, was familiar with the apparel industry. But upon returning to the area as a Parsons student to work in a textiles plant years later, she learned that the industry was heavily dependent on the use of toxic chemicals and began to see it in a new light. 

The experience spurred Parasrampuria to think about safer alternatives. “Dye production stood out as an area ripe for innovation,” she says. “Vegetable dyes, which sound eco-friendly, are not as sustainable as they appear, and their range of color is limited.” During the junior year of her BFA program, Parasrampuria was introduced to Genspace, the world’s first community biology lab, where she explored the use of bacteria in fabric dyeing. After months of research and development, she succeeded in engineering bacteria that produced vibrant pigments. It was a novel and natural approach to creating dyes with minimal resources.

Parasrampuria also devised a unique polymer using cellulose fibers from textile waste and algae—extremely fast-growing antimicrobial and carbon-sequestering organisms—to create natural embellishments such as beads that could replace the petroleum-based plastic varieties typically used in clothing, cosmetics, and other products. In 2022, Parasrampuria founded the start-up Cellsense, which aims to manufacture these sustainable bioembellishments at scale. Cellsense recently won the Earthshot Innovation Challenge and the Ikea Foundation's Redesign Everything Challenge; it also received a Swarovski Foundation Creatives for Our Future grant and an ACCEL fellowship, sponsored by Microsoft and Greentown Labs. Cellsense’s work was also featured at the United Nations Water Conference and was mentioned in connection with Forbes’ 2023 30 Under 30 list of innovators. 

Parasrampuria’s career defies labels, bringing together the roles of designer, entrepreneur, inventor, environmentalist, teacher, and researcher. She credits Parsons with nurturing the interdisciplinary approach she employs in her work. “Parsons encourages systems thinking, which is the foundation of my work now,” says Parasrampuria. “My professors always asked, ‘What’s next?’ This led me to think outside the box.”

Her professors also emphasized the importance of understanding the practical applications of her work. “They encouraged me to make things that people want,” explains Parasrampuria. “It’s not just about sustainability; if it’s not beautiful, then people aren’t going to want it.” 

Parasrampuria’s work and new business are already benefiting industry workers and the environment while contributing to the broader effort to transform the fashion system as a whole.

Cellsense.bio