Founders Michelle Zhu and Dr Tammy Hsu can also count on the support of designer Adriano Goldschmied, their team’s denim innovation advisor.

Huue’s methods are rooted in Dr Hsu’s experiments with “sustainable” indigo dyeing during her time as a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley.

“We look at how the indigo plant makes the indigo dye molecule. Then we take that genetic information and instruct our microbes to make indigo the same way. We’re growing these microbes and they’re programmed to secrete the indigo,” she explained.

Huue’s website describes its biosynthetetic method as the only dye technology that is both sustainable and compatible with existing manufacturing, in terms of its ability to be swapped out “one to one” with conventional dyes.

Today, the business is mainly focused on trying to disrupt the denim industry, although it does plan to eventually expand its technology to encompass other parts of the textiles and fashion sector in the future.

Ms Zhu said she was “so excited” to be named to the list. “It’s such an honour to be part of such an inspiring cohort of female leaders,” Dr Hsu added.

Image: Kelsey McClellan.