UK brand branches into ‘genetically engineered’ indigo
UK outdoor brand Vollebak has launched a line of t-shirts using a “genetically engineered” indigo.
Its first “DNA t-shirts” – dyed with technology from UK company Colorifix – were launched in mid-June and sold out within 48 hours.
Vollebak founder Steve Tidball said: “If you’re wondering how to genetically engineer the colour blue, you access one of the world’s open-source biomolecular databases, select a protein called indigoid, which is found in the cells of the indigo plant, and implant its DNA sequence into a self-replicating single bacterial cell.
“You then brew that bacteria like beer – the indigoid protein produces different shades of colour depending on the types of sugars you feed the bacteria during fermentation. The final step is submerging the t shirts in the DNA soup you’ve brewed to turn them blue.”
Vollebak is known for using and experimenting with novel or high-performing materials - previous ranges have included graphene, carbon fibre, copper, aerogel, ionic liquid, seaweed, algae, Dyneema, ceramics, phosphorescent compounds and volcanic soil.
