British biotech uses microbes for nature-inspired dyes
29/11/2019
Colorfix does this by harvesting a colour gene in nature and inserting it into a bacterial cell, tricking the cell into filling up with the colour and duplicating, according to Reuters. Cells then jump onto the fabric and release the dye on it, after which the solution is briefly heated to kill the cells.
CEO Orr Yarkoni told Reuters the company will soon launch industrial-scale trials in partnership with fashion groups, including Swedish fashion retailer H&M, and with textile manufacturers such as Switzerland’s Forster Rohner and India’s Arvind.
The tests will be conducted at dye houses already supplying those brands, with pilots planned to begin by Christmas at sites in Portugal, Italy and India. If the trials are successful, Colorifix hopes to launch commercially in 2020.
The technology has received backing from the venture capital arm of H&M, as well as Swiss investment firm Challenger 88 and Cambridge University.
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