Colorifix uses DNA sequencing to grow colors in a way that's more environmentally friendly
A new way to dye fabrics, yarns, and other materials could make the textile industry more sustainable and chemical-free. Fabric dyeing consumes 1.3 trillion gallons of water every year globally, the equivalent of two million Olympic-sized swimming pools. Synthetic dyes make up most of the pigments that color garments sold for mass fashion retail, amounting to billions of articles of clothing per year, but the dyes also contain harmful chemicals in addition to using up water resources.
Over the past decade, the UK based company Colorifix has developed DNA sequencing to derive microorganisms that produce pigments, through a fermentation process similar to making beer. The company was a finalist for this year’s Earthshot Prize awards, recognizing the technology’s innovation. The process involves less water and no chemicals, making for minimal environmental impact. Unlike other sustainable dyes, or dyes derived from nature, the Colorifix technology uses the biological process to produce, deposit, and fix pigments to textiles. While natural dyes can be produced without chemicals, those dyes have to be bound to the fabric, and it’s that process that usually involves chemicals. Colorifix pigments solve both problems—producing pigments and binding them without chemicals.
“Rather than extracting the pigment from a living organism, we extract the message contained within the DNA of a living organism,” explained Christopher Hunter, COO of Colorifix. “We extract the message [DNA sequence] specifically that relates to how the living organism encodes color.” Half of the company’s 92 staff are scientists who develop ways to grow different pigments for varying applications.
Some samples of Colorifix pigments:
The customer base of Colorifix is higher up in the chain of fashion and consists of manufacturers who produce the raw materials for fashion houses and brands. The distribution model is decentralized, where Colorifix sends vials of the microbes and trains manufacturers how to grow the colors directly on-site.
“When we sell our technology to a customer, we implement fermentation hardware in the dye house,” said Hunter. “By doing it this way, we can make our process more environmentally efficient.” The fermentation hardware is a modular system that can be scaled up according to the size of the manufacturing facility.
Colorifix currently works with manufacturers in Portugal and Italy, but will be expanding to India, Brazil, and other parts of the world in the coming year.
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