Interview of Prof. Huang

Fig1. Prof. Huang

In order to understand the current situation of water pollution in the Yangtze River Delta region of China and gain insights into the progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation , we interviewed Professor Huang Hui from the School of Environment at Nanjing University. Prof. Huang is a renowned expert in water pollution and its control, specifically focusing on the Yangtze River Delta region. His expertise extends to the development of sustainable water pollution control standards for the fashion industry, aligning with Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production .

During our discussion with Prof. Huang, we delved into the current water pollution situation in the Nanjing region, specifically addressing the challenges faced in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6. Additionally, we explored the innovative methods employed for treating textile wastewater, which directly contributes to Sustainable Development Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure . By engaging with Prof. Huang, we aimed to broaden our understanding of cutting-edge wastewater treatment techniques and adopt a more professional approach to evaluate our project's alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Prof. Huang discussed the causes and types of water pollution in the fashion industry, highlighting heavy metals, strong alkalis, and dyes as contributors. He emphasized the industry's significant impact on water pollution, ranking second after petroleum. Addressing water pollution in the fashion industry is crucial due to its close connection to human life and the potential global benefits . To enhance our understanding, Prof. Huang shared relevant regulations such as the Discharge standards of water pollutants for textile dyeing and finishing , and the Technical specifications for wastewater treatment in the textile industry .

Fig2. Our interview with Prof. Huang

After the interview, we read and learned the relevant standards that Prof. Huang provided with us, Discharge standards of water pollutants for dyeing and finishing of the textile industry and Technical specifications for dyeing and finishing wastewater treatment of the textile industry . We gained an amount of specialized knowledge and we had a clearer understanding of Fashion industry wastewater courses, types, treatment, and discharge.

We also learned more about the water pollution in the Yangtze River Delta region and the existing sewage treatment methods. This interview not only enriched our project background, but also provided us with more standardized environmental monitoring data , which laid a foundation for us to evaluate the possibility of sustainable development of our project in the future.

Fig3. Group photo with Prof. Huang

Furthermore, after studying the causes of pollution in the fashion industry and familiarizing ourselves with relevant laws and regulations on treatment standards, we recognized the need for field investigations in factories . This step is crucial in aligning our project with Sustainable Development Goals and allows us to engage closely with stakeholders, receiving valuable feedback to further refine our approach. Building on the knowledge gained from the interview, we thoroughly prepared for our field visit to the factories.

Field Visit——Jiangsu Golden Sun Textile Technology Co., Ltd

Jiangsu Golden Sun Textile Technology Co., Ltd. is a textile enterprise located in Nantong. Its products mainly focus on home textile fabrics, integrating product design, research and development, sales, and service. It is a highly well-known and reputable enterprise in the industry. We hope to investigate the pollution and treatment methods in the fashion industry through on-site visits, thus having a better understanding of our main goals for sustainable development.

Fig1. Our visit to the factory

Under the leadership of Manager Mao, we visited the factory, which is mainly responsible for the pre-treatment of textiles, including singeing, de-sizing, scouring, bleaching, jacquard, and other processes. We found that there was a large amount of chemical pollution in the dyeing and finishing process, and there was also serious noise pollution, heat pollution, and air pollution in the factory.

Fig2. Group photo in the company

The visit to the factory's production workshop confirmed our previous investigation results on fashion industry pollution. The dyeing process used a large amount of water, and various dyes and auxiliaries were heavily used, resulting in water pollution, chemical pollution, and heavy metal pollution. The noise from the machines was so loud that it seriously interfered with communication between people. Many processes in dyeing were high-temperature and high-pressure, causing severe heat pollution in the factory. Through the visit, we realized the severity of fashion industry pollution and recognized that our project was good for the world. Manager Mao also acknowledged that traditional textile production inevitably brings about a significant amount of pollution. Among them, the dyeing and finishing process, which he is responsible for, is the most polluting stage. He also recognized the idea of our project, stating that if the dyeing and finishing process could be moved up to the raw material production stage, the subsequent processing stages would be reduced, resulting in a natural reduction in pollution. He said if our project succeeds, it will reduce a lot of downstream pollution in the fashion industry.

Our projects belong to industry, innovation and infrastructure, and through these exciting changes, we aim to create responsible consumption and production, and constantly move towards sustainable development goals.

Field Visit——Xinjian Tekuo Bleaching and Finishing (Nantong) Co., Ltd.

Time: 2023.07.03 Location: Nantong

Xinjian Tekuo Float Finishing Co., Ltd is a professional production enterprise engaged in fabric bleaching, dyeing, and printing. It is the first private enterprise in the province to achieve zero discharge of printing and dyeing wastewater. We hope to gain a deeper understanding of the pollution generated in the dyeing and finishing process and find solutions to address it. And we realized the company has a very complete sewage treatment system construction. Therefore, we hope to visit the sewage treatment system of Xinjian Tekuo Float Finishing Co., Ltd to understand the situation of textile industry sewage and its treatment, and to have a further understanding of the significance of our project. Through this visit, we want to further expand the impact of our projects on sustainable development, including not only Goals 9 and 12(our main goals), but also clean water and sanitation, sustainable cities and communities.

We visited Xinjian Tekuo Float Finishing Co., Ltd., and General Manager Xing of the company received us. Firstly, Mr. Xing introduced us to the dyeing process in textiles, which gave us a further understanding of textile printing and dyeing. We asked Mr. Xing about the use of dyes in textile production. He responded that, despite the pollution they may generate, the use of dyes is inevitable in clothing production because consumers expect a wide range of colors in their clothing. We inquired about the most commonly used colors of additives in their regular production. He replied, it depends on the type of garment. Almost any color is used for T-shirts, but for items like jeans, blue is the primary color. White, blue, black, and other basic colors are commonly used. Next, Mr. Xing took us on a tour of the factory's bleaching and dyeing processes. We observed the specific process of dyeing and finishing in the workshop, as well as the generation of a large amount of wastewater and emissions of gases. We also experienced the heat and noise pollution.

Fig1. photo of visiting the factory

In response to our key environmental issues, Mr. Xing led us to visit the advanced sewage treatment facilities in the factory. Mr. Xing mentioned that the government's requirements for wastewater treatment are becoming increasingly stringent. Many companies have been forced to close down because they cannot afford the costs of these requirements. It can be seen that the situation of wastewater treatment has greatly affected the survival and development of enterprises. This is also one of the reasons why companies are looking to change traditional high-pollution production methods.

Fig2. photo of visiting the factory

Through this visit, we have realized that treating wastewater from the textile industry requires significant costs. Therefore, if our project can reduce the generation of wastewater from the source, it will be of great significance for reducing costs and achieving green development. And it will be a promising way to realize the sustainable development of industry.

Fig3. Group photo with Mr. Xing

Nowadays, environmental protection and sustainable development are the trend of the times, and the national standards for pollution emissions from enterprises are gradually increasing. This is a good chance for us to make innovation. Many enterprises have gradually increased their investment in pollution treatment as a result. If we can directly produce colored fibers from microorganisms, it will reduce the generation of printing and dyeing wastewater, make a contribution to green development, and use technologies to support sustainable development.

Questionnaire

In the early stage of the project, in order to understand people's awareness of sustainable development, we designed a questionnaire on these aspects. As of August this year, more than 700 valid questionnaires have been collected, from which many suggestions and feedback have been obtained to further optimize our project.

We distributed questionnaires through a combination of online forwarding and offline distribution. Using the Starlight Market held for the 121st anniversary of the founding of Nanjing University to expand the scope of publicity. At the same time, we held games related to biology, and let the students scan the QR code to fill in the questionnaire, so as to propagate the iGEM competition and our concept to them.

Fig1&2 Our team members are distributing questionnaires.

In terms of public awareness, we consider that the proportion of people who have used animal and plant leather is quite high, and the proportion of people who have used animal and plant leather increases with age. However, 27% of respondents said they were not clear about the source of the leather they used. This means that sustainable development goals still have a long way to go, we need to convey the concept of environmental protection to the masses and call on people to reduce the use of animal and plant leather. That was the reason why we were committed to education. At the same time, we also found that the public has a certain understanding of the environmental problems caused by traditional leather, and they are willing to reduce their use of it. This means that if our product can be launched, it will receive support from a large number of environmental activists.

In the fashion industry pollution cognition, we found that only a few people know that it will also produce pesticide pollution and heat pollution. It also shows that the public does not fully understand the types of pollution caused by the fashion industry and does not pay much attention to SDGs. We need to strengthen science popularization on environmental pollution to primary and secondary school students so that more people can have a more comprehensive understanding of the environmental pollution that the fashion industry may bring.

SynMetabio

After achieving promising experimental results, we plan to start commercialization. Once again, we thought of SynMetabio. As a company derived from iGEM, SynMetabio have been highly successful in commercialization. We visited SynMetabio in Shanghai. During our visit, we learned about their journey in commercialization and began enhancing our dyed fibers based on market research and public feedback.

Our product can truly fulfill its potential only when it is commercialized. However, we sought the help of a commercialization company to guide us on how to proceed. That's when we thought of SynMetabio, a company similar to our project. Derived from iGEM, SynMetabio has been highly successful in commercialization. Therefore, we wanted to learn from and emulate their commercialization model.

We were delighted to be received by Xu Huandi, the CEO of SynMetabio. After understanding our intentions to improve the experimental project and drive its commercialization, Xu first introduced us to SynMetabio's first product. We learned that their innovative leather is a composite material, created by laminating different membranes using various materials. This approach not only utilizes new biobased materials but also maintains a high degree of similarity to traditional leather. When we asked him about the reasoning behind this decision, he said, "Change doesn't happen overnight. If we want the market to accept new biobased materials, we should gradually introduce our new products to consumers. Therefore, we chose a progressive and incremental approach." We strongly agreed with their mindset.

We learned that their device was an iteration of the original device, which showcase their achieving goal: Sustainable Development Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. SynMetabio’s products are also well positioned to achieve SDI: Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, Sustainable Development Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger, Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation and Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. And in this aspect they show us the way forward.

During the discussion on product design, Xu emphasized that a qualified product should first have a low cost. SynMetabio guided us through their laboratory and explained their approach and methods for large-scale production of bacterial cellulose, such as using low-cost glucose as a carbon source. Secondly, the product should possess excellent properties. Xu acknowledged that the cellulose produced directly by K. xylinus is not of high quality. As a result, they shared the efforts SynMetabio made to improve the characteristics of bacterial cellulose derived from K. xylinus. We were deeply inspired. Xu also recommended a book to us, titled Bacterial Cellulose Biomaterials.

Fig1. Photo of the discussion

When we inquired about the path to successful commercialization, Xu Huandi mentioned that we should first have our own commercialization strategy. Secondly, we should identify the target audience for our product to efficiently generate interest among potential consumers. Lastly, we should believe in the success of our project and confidently present it to potential investors. This way, we have the possibility of obtaining sponsorship and truly embarking on the commercialization journey.

Fig2. Group photo with Xu Huandi

Visit to the ACLE

The China International Leather Exhibition (ACLE) is known as the "barometer" of the leather industry. In 2023, the exhibition covered a total area of over 80,000 square meters. More than 1,000 well-known companies from nearly 30 countries and regions including the United States, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Turkey gathered together. The exhibition was divided into two parts: the International Pavilion and the Domestic Pavilion, covering categories such as leather, leather chemicals, footwear materials, leather and shoe machinery, synthetic leather, and synthetic leather chemicals. We want to learn about the leather products of domestic and foreign companies and grasp the latest developments in advanced leather technology research and development , especially focusing on biobased leather and related technologies . We also hope to learn from this experience and gain insights to provide references for our project, in particular, to understand the exploration and contribution of these companies to sustainable development.

In the morning, we attended the "Leather New Products & New Technology Session". The session invited professionals from 6 leading domestic leather companies to give keynote speeches, introducing advanced leather manufacturing technologies and the unique and innovative new leather products developed by their companies.

Fig1. Leather New Products & New Technology Session

During the session, we learned about the importance of sustainable development in the shearling processing industry. Yang Jin from Longfeng Gelemei Fashion Co., Ltd. introduced shearling as a sustainable product obtained from the remaining sheepskin after shearing. She highlighted the industry's efforts in reducing energy consumption, pollution, and achieving high-quality development through the harmless treatment of solid waste . This focus on sustainability is driving the industry towards a more environmentally friendly and sustainable future.

Zhang Xiaowei, the general manager of Zhongniu Industrial Co., Ltd., discussed the company's new products in the high-end cowhide sofa leather segment. Their chromium-free tanned plain sofa leather series is produced using environmentally friendly processing methods , showcasing the industry's commitment to reducing harmful substances in leather production . Yang Xia, the manager of the research and development department at Jinan Lurijunda Leather Co., Ltd., presented their water-based embossed cow split leather for shoe uppers. This innovative product not only eliminates VOC pollution in leather processing but also has a higher leather yield and reduces heat energy consumption compared to traditional production processes.

Overall, we observed that many companies in the industry are actively pursuing technological innovation and infrastructure improvement to enhance sustainability. This commitment to sustainable development is driving positive change in the industry and contributing to a greener and more environmentally friendly future. This is similar to the original intention of our project, which is to reduce pollution and contribute to environmental protection and sustainable development by producing colored fibers using microorganisms.

However, we noticed that these new technologies are mostly based on traditional leather production processes and still require traditional animal leather as raw materials, which may have some negative impacts on the environment during the processing and treatment. Therefore, we hope that in the future, leather manufacturing technologies can continue to be improved and perfected , and we also hope to see more environmentally friendly new types of leather , such as plant-based leather and microbial leather, to reduce environmental pollution.

Fig2. Different leather in the ACLE

During the visit, we saw various types of leather, including traditional leather and new types of leather, such as chemical leather and bio-based leather. Silicone leather is made by coating organic silicon on various substrates. Compared with traditional leather processing, it can greatly reduce energy waste, achieve low-carbon production and green energy-saving . At the same time, it has advantages such as delicate touch, waterproofness, and stain resistance, and is used in sofas and car interiors. Bio-based leather is made from various renewable bio-based raw materials, mainly from three sources, including agricultural materials, such as carbohydrate-rich plants like corn or sugarcane; fiber materials, which are plants that cannot be used as food or feed; and organic waste. During our visit to the exhibition, we saw bio-based leather made from corn and coffee, and experienced the unique texture and patterns of these leathers. We also saw a company specializing in the production of leather fiber-based fabrics. The production process of leather fiber-based fabrics involves first recycling leather scraps, extracting leather fibers, and then intertwining them into a mesh to obtain the base fabric. The base fabric can be made into finished products through dyeing and veneering. This process of leather regeneration also gave us new ideas, and we realized that the colored fibers we obtained could also be used to make colored leather base fabrics through weaving and intertwining.

We are delighted to see that many companies have recognized the importance of sustainable development. They are improving production processes to reduce water pollution, upgrading workshop facilities to improve employee welfare, and dedicating themselves to producing more environmentally friendly and sustainable products through technological innovation and process optimization. The fashion industry is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, and our project is in line with this transformation, reducing pollution from multiple dimensions, promoting animal welfare and worker welfare, and bringing positive impacts to sustainable development.

Experts Interview——Alessandra Taccon、Deborah Taylor & Thomas Yu

Fig1-3. Alessandra Taccon、Deborah Taylor & Thomas Yu

During the All China Leather Exhibition in Shanghai, our team had deep communication with several experts from the non-profit foundation and the eco-friendly company, aiming to have a more professional understanding of our project’s sustainable development impact.

Sustainable Lather Foundation (SLF) General Manager Deborah Taylor and ECOTAN Project Director Alessandra Taccon introduced us to SLF's philosophy and work, as well as the current status of the industry. The leather industry has both positive and negative impacts on the environment. It also supports the livelihoods of millions of workers. Sustainable development is crucial for the leather industry, and this is the founding principle of SLF. As a non-profit organization, they provide services to help companies undergo transformation and upgrades. Deborah analyzed environmental issues such as deforestation, energy consumption, water usage, toxic chemicals, noise and air pollution, water pollution, land pollution, solid emissions, and greenhouse gases. She also mentioned social issues such as child labor and employee welfare, as well as governance issues such as animal welfare and industry controls. Alessandra discussed good leather production methods, including the use of natural tannins and leather recycling. She also talked about the hazards of phenolic substances and the rise of bio-based materials.

Fig4. Our interview with the experts

Our member Cao Mingxi asked Deborah and Alessandra questions to understand their views on bio-based synthetic leather and sustainable development. Deborah and Alessandra provided detailed responses, expressing that bio-based leather has broad application prospects, especially from the perspective of SDGs. Such products are already available on the market, although they are not yet mainstream. They expressed support and encouragement for our project while reminding us not to create more problems while solving one.

Then, we have an interview with Thomas Yu, who is the President of the Taiwanese International Leather Association. President Yu has devoted himself to the leather chemical industry for 25 years since 1997. He has worked at a chemical company –JOLLITY Enterprise Co., Ltd. for over 15 years moving from Technician to General Manager. Mr Yu currently sits on the advisory board of SLF (Sustainable Leather Foundation). Because of his long experience in the industry, we spoke with him in depth about the goal of industry, innovation, and infrastructure. He suggested that we should not try to disrupt the entire industrial chain, but should innovate based on existing production models and equipment.

Fig5. Our group photo with Alessandra Taccon

This is the first time our project has received feedback and opinions from leaders of international non-profit organizations, which indicates how we can promote the concept of bio-based leather to more people while pursuing technological innovation. We will focus on sustainable development goals and design diverse and colorful science popularization and promotional activities, aiming to deepen the understanding of bio-based leather and environmental knowledge. At the same time, we will also consider the interests of stakeholders in our project and listen to their demands and voices, taking into account the social impact of the project. To achieve our main goal of sustainable development , we not only need to reduce the pollution of the fashion industry through our projects, but also need to promote the innovation of the technology and equipment of the entire industry through our efforts, and more importantly, let more consumers consider sustainable development factors when making decisions, and become truly responsible consumers.

Interview with Prof. Xu

In order to clarify the true meaning of sustainable development and accurately evaluate the possibility of sustainable development of our project, we interviewed Prof. Xu. Prof. Xu Chi is a professor of ecology at the School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University. His research focuses on the stability and resilience of macroecosystems. Therefore, we hoped to discuss with Prof. Xu about sustainable development to examine whether the project is truly sustainable from a professional perspective and to inspire some forward-looking thinking. And we wanted to know what we can do to promote our sustainable development impact.

In this interview, Prof. Xu Chi put forward the concept of intergenerational equity, that is, everyone is a fair individual, and our generation should not harm the resources available to the next generation. In other words, they should not become the price of our development. The essence of sustainable development is to realize intergenerational equity.

Fig1. Our interview with Prof. Xu

Prof. Xu also pointed out that we can conduct a Life Cycle Assessment of our products. Take solar panels as an example, although they belong to a kind of clean energy, after the end of their life cycle, they need to consume a lot of energy to recover, which is actually a "pseudo" clean energy. Therefore, to truly sustainable development, it is necessary to consider not only how much energy can be saved during the life cycle of the product, but also how much carbon emissions outside the life cycle can be recycled. In this regard, Prof. Xu suggested that we can calculate the carbon emissionsof our products, evaluate the overall energy consumption and economic cost, and judge whether it really meets the requirements of sustainable development.

The concept of intergenerational equity gave us a clearer understanding of the definition of sustainable development. The view of the Life Cycle Assessment proposed by Prof. Xu also gave us great inspiration. We conducted the Life Cycle Assessment and re-examined the possible environmental pollution caused by our product recycling process and had a lot of forward-looking thinking about the future development of the project.

Even though we have set SDGs as our work goals and guidelines, we still feel that sustainable development is a relatively abstract concept. We promoted our products as sustainable development, but we have not conducted a quantitative analysis. However, after learning about the Life Cycle Assessment from Professor Xu Chi, we realized that sustainable development can also be calculated. We will continue to promote the quantitative analysis of sustainable development to make our project more convincing.

Online Summit on Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development launched by NNU-China

The "Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development" online conference was initiated and hosted by the iGEM team from Nanjing Normal University, with a total of 8 iGEM teams participating. During the conference, our team members shared our contributions to sustainable development and actively listened to valuable insights from other teams, engaging in discussions and exchanges. We are grateful to Nanjing Normal University for providing us with such a platform, allowing us to communicate with other teams and stakeholders, receive feedback, and continuously improve our ideas. We hope that through this conference, we can contribute together with all the teams to the goal of sustainable development.

Fig1. Photo of the conference

By participating in this conference, we hope to share experiences and exchange insights with other teams dedicated to environmental protection. We also hope to receive feedback from stakeholders, which will inspire us to optimize our project.

The "Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development" online conference aims to create a platform for iGEM teams to communicate and collaborate on the theme of environmental protection and sustainable development.

During the conference, each participating team gave presentations, showcasing their research and innovative achievements in environmental protection and sustainable development, as well as the problems encountered and solutions found during the experimental process. For example, the NJtech-China-A team from Nanjing Tech University shared their improvement of PET enzyme through protein engineering for filter cloth recycling, and the NNU-China team from the organizing institution, Nanjing Normal University, shared the production of enzyme preparations to degrade PET plastics using synthetic biology techniques. Our team also presented our project's ideas, our contributions to environmental protection and sustainable development, and the significance of our project through a PowerPoint presentation.

Fig2. Photo of the conference

In addition to the presentation sessions, there were also dedicated discussion and exchange time slots. During these sessions, teams actively asked questions, shared insights, and discussed how to better promote environmental protection and sustainable development. Through these exchanges with other teams, we not only deepened our understanding of each project but also discovered new opportunities for collaboration and innovation. Through collective thinking and discussion, we believe that we can provide better solutions for addressing environmental issues and achieving sustainable development.

Based on the feedback received during this conference, we have optimized and reflected on our project. We need to further consider the stakeholders of our project and the various potential impacts, both positive and negative, that our project may have on them. Additionally, we need to deeply contemplate the social impact and value of our project on microbial production of colored fibers and explore how to design experiments that can make a greater contribution to sustainable development goals.

In conclusion, the iGEM "Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development" online conference was a highly successful event. Through this conference, we not only deepened our understanding of environmental protection and sustainable development but also established connections with other teams and jointly explored solutions. We believe that through our efforts and collaboration, we can make a greater contribution to the goal of sustainable development. We express our gratitude to the iGEM team from Nanjing Normal University for their meticulous organization and hosting of this conference, and we look forward to more opportunities for communication and collaboration in the future.

SDGs Online International Summit launched by Tsinghua-TFL

Our team recently attended the SDG Online Summit organized by Tsinghua University, where each team presented their projects and contributions towards achieving the SDGs. Our team, Rainbow Weaver, focuses on combating pollution in the fashion industry through synthetic biology. The SDG Online Summit provided a valuable platform for us to share our project and initiatives towards achieving the SDGs. We are grateful for the opportunity to engage with other teams and stakeholders and for the feedback and insights we have received. We will continue to work towards creating a sustainable future for the fashion industry through collaboration, innovation, and education.

The purpose of our participation in the SDG Online Summit was to showcase our project's contribution to achieving the SDGs and to gain insights and feedback from other teams and stakeholders. We aimed to focus on pollution in the fashion industry, engage with relevant stakeholders, plan and implement various methods to address these issues, and contribute to the SDGs. We are glad that there are many like-minded partners walking with us on this road, and we hope to improve our understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals through the collision of ideas, and strive to get more ideas to solve the pollution of the fashion industry.

At the beginning of the meeting, Mr. Bao made an opening speech, who is an officer from the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Foundation and the coordinator for the Human Practices project. Each team that was shared later had a different understanding of the SDGS and conducted some amazing activities. Some of them emphasized the importance of integrating ethical considerations into synthetic biology research and development. Some of them discussed the need for responsible innovation and highlighted the role of iGEM in promoting responsible research practices and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. Our team shared our experiences in coordinating the Human Practices project, which focused on engaging with stakeholders and raising awareness about the societal implications of synthetic biology. We designed educational courses and organized activities in underdeveloped areas of China to empower communities, particularly children, with knowledge about sustainable development. Our ultimate goal is to create a sustainable future for the fashion industry by addressing pollution through collaboration, innovation, and education. We mentioned that the main SDGs goals that we want to achieve are Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production and Sustainable Development Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. Secondary goals are Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger and Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation as well as Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. By integrating ethical considerations into our work, we can ensure that our solutions are not only effective but also socially responsible. Our project has been appreciated by many teams, and we have learned a lot from everyone's exploration.

Fig1. Photo of the conference

Fig2. Photo of the conference

Based on the feedback received during the SDG Online Summit, we have made specific improvements and enhancements to our project. For example, we should not only look at the positive impact of our projects on sustainable development, but also evaluate the social changes they may bring, such as the unemployment of textile workers. At the same time, our stakeholder hierarchy should be more explicit, rather than including all the people involved in our project. These improvements aim to address any identified shortcomings and ensure the effectiveness and impact of our actions. We have also identified areas for further exploration and improvement to enhance our project's contribution to the SDGs.

Through reflection on the feedback received during the SDG Online Summit, we have gained a deeper understanding of the importance of collaboration, innovation, and education in achieving sustainable development goals. In the future, we may need to further assess the contribution of our projects to the Sustainable Development Goals quantitatively, rather than only at the qualitative stage.

Voluntary Teaching in Yunnan

In order to make the iGEM and Nanjing-China project's science popularization lectures available to school children in remote areas, and to make our knowledge transfer benefit more children in different areas, Nanjing-China cooperated with Yueyun Tongzhi Nanhua Detachment. Went to Nanhua County, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, Nanhua Siyuan experimental school for science popularization. The subjects we need to popularize science are primary school students and junior high school students, so iGEMer designed a course on environmental protection to the acceptances of students of different ages. The content of the course includes knowledge presentation and manual production. The manual production is based on students' understanding and application of the knowledge presented, so the knowledge presentation is the main link and takes a long time.

In the lecture, iGEMer starts with the common pollution around us, so that students can intuitively feel the serious pollution in our lives. iGEMer then systematically explains the basics of pollution, including the types of pollution and how it relates to life. With the foundation of pollution knowledge, iGEMer introduces the pollution that may be caused by the whole production process of the textile industry, so that students can form a deep understanding of the pollution of textiles. iGEMer introduces ways to reduce waste such as clothing recycling and recycling, and encourages people to choose a more environmentally friendly lifestyle.

Fig1. Photo of having class

During the crafting session, iGEMer guided the students to depict their environmental concerns on pure white T-shirts. The ingenious patterns on the finished products highlight the students' creativity and pure understanding of environmental protection.

Fig2. Photo of the painted T-shirt

We separate iGEM and project introduction into different knowledge points and integrate them into the curriculum, with the main purpose of transmitting scientific concepts. The students were very active in our course, cooperated with us to complete every question and interaction session, and showed a good understanding and application of the course content in the final handmade session.

In the lecture, we have well popularized the knowledge related to sustainable development, and deepened the impression of students through games. It is such a quit meaningful activity to let more students know about the pollution caused by fashion industry.