Dyes made by microbes could reduce the environmental impact of clothes

The colour in our clothes has many serious environmental consequences, from the use of fossil fuel by-products to manufacture dyes to the heavily polluted water left after dyeing. But a UK-based company called Colorifix says it can greatly reduce these impacts by using microbes both to make the dyes and to help fix them to fabrics.

“We’ve had considerable interest in this, because consumers are really starting to think about what they wear and how it damages the environment,” says chief science officer Jim Ajioka.