This Earthshot Prize finalist is using DNA sequencing to create sustainable clothing dyes

From nan vivid reddish of a parrot’s feather to nan dreamy blues and purples of Indigo plants, quality is simply a riot of colour. It has a spectrum to fulfill moreover nan astir fashion-forward of humans, truthful what if location were a measurement to people transcript each of these hues?

That’s precisely what UK-based institution Colorifix is moving on: a fabric-dyeing process that uses nan DNA codes for colours recovered successful quality and teaches microbes to recreate them.

Founders Orr Yarkoni and Jim Ajioka were motivated by a investigation travel to Nepal successful 2013, wherever they saw nan toxic effect of chemically synthesised dyes connected Kathmandu's rivers. 

A decade later, Colorfix won nickname arsenic a 2023 finalist for The Earthshot Prize - nan world biology grant created by Britain’s Prince William. 

We caught up pinch nan institution to find retired much astir nan waste-cutting solution and what they’ve achieved since stepping into nan world spotlight.

How do you ‘grow colour’ from nature?

Before nan 19th century, cloth dyes were derived from earthy plants and crops, and colourful clothing was considered a luxury. Colorifix is “bringing nan manner manufacture backmost to its roots”, successful nan words of CEO Yarkoni - but pinch a 21st period group of devices to unlock caller pigments.

It originates by identifying an absorbing colour created people by an animal, works aliases microbe. By searching nationalist databases, scientists find nan ‘instructions’ for making that colour successful nan organism’s DNA code. 

They past insert that codification into bioengineered microbes for illustration yeast, which are fed pinch sweetener and nitrogen successful bioreactors, akin to nan measurement beer is brewed. Over time, these “microscopic colour factories” tin create hundreds to thousands of litres of dye.

Finally, nan contents of nan fermentor are pumped into modular dye machines on pinch nan yarn, fabric, aliases garment to beryllium dyed.

Scaling up sustainable dyeing

“Support from The Earthshot Prize not only validates nan effect of our solution but besides connects america pinch nan web needed for this important adjacent phase,” says Andreas Andren, caput of business improvement astatine Colorifix.

Finalists - location are 15 each year, crossed 5 categories -  subordinate nan Prize’s 12-month accelerator programme, which includes connections to investors and thief to flooded hurdles.

“Biotech is great, but wide costly to tally and scale,” explains Andren. “Part of nan invention we had to put into play was hardware to make biotechnology scaling competitory pinch commodity chemic manufacturing. 

“Having to lick that problem connected apical of processing our halfway exertion - nan existent dyeing - was decidedly nan biggest challenge.”

How do you patent a ‘natural’ solution?

Colorfix’s solution makes for an absorbing intelligence spot (IP) case. Patenting organisms that person been recreated utilizing DNA exertion is tricky, truthful nan institution has alternatively patented its process of producing, depositing and fixing dye connected fabric.

“To reap each nan benefits of our technology, specified arsenic elasticity and costs parity, a dye location will request to instal our proprietary bioreactors on-site,” Andren says.

Is nan institution coming up against incumbents successful nan industry? “We are getting much attraction from synthetic chemic manufacturers,” he says. 

“Some good, immoderate not truthful good; but nan truth that they are starting to salary attraction is decidedly a motion we are connected nan correct track.”

How are sustainable dyes cleaning up nan manner industry?

Colorifix has operational capacity successful Europe and South America - dispersed retired crossed respective manufacturers - and is aiming to beryllium operational successful South Asia wrong a year.

It has collaborated pinch manner brands for illustration Pangaia and Vollebak to bring products dyed pinch its exertion to marketplace and commencement expanding request for sustainable dyes passim nan proviso chain. 

There are different “big names successful nan pipeline,” says Andren - but nan institution is keeping its cards adjacent to its thorax for now. The aforesaid goes for nan caller colours it is cooking up.

However, he reveals, they successfully dyed greens and oranges during nan first portion of nan year. And nan squad are extending their exertion to caller materials, including Spiber, made of spider silk protein, and Circulose, an replacement cellulose pulp. 

New colours will subordinate Colorifix’s superior palette of 3 pigments: 1 detected successful Indigo plants; another, Blushing Rose, made by underwater bacteria; and a 3rd bacteria-born pigment recovered successful ungraded and deep-sea sediments, named Sunlit Sand.

Colouring our apparel pinch these earthy dyes would correspond immense advancement for an manufacture that is presently polluting and colouring quality - for illustration Tanzania’s Msimbazi River - pinch chemicals.

Colorifix’s earthy dyes trim chemic contamination by 80 per cent and, erstwhile applied to fabrics, they require acold less rinses than synthetic dyes, yet redeeming immense quantities of water.