Fast fashion brand H&M recently invested in Colorifix, a British biotechnology startup that is developing an environmentally friendly microbial dyeing technology.
H&M and some textile companies are about to start industrial-scale trials of this dyeing technology, Colorifix expects Commercial microbial dyes could be launched on the market in 2020.
Data show that Colorifix has proposed color genes from organisms such as birds and butterflies, and inserted them into certain bacteria to enable the bacteria to obtain different colors. These bacteria can act as dyes to color the fabric. After the dyeing is successful, these bacteria will be killed by a short period of high temperature. Colorifix said that this dyeing technology has many environmentally friendly advantages, such as not using heavy metal chemical dyes, the heating temperature is lower than traditional dyeing, and depending on the equipment, it can also reduce dyeing water consumption by up to 90%.
It is revealed that H&M and some textile companies are about to begin industrial-scale trials of this dyeing technology, and Colorifix expects that in 2020 Commercial microbial dyes could be released to the market in 2018.
In fact, this is just a microcosm of H&M’s environmental protection measures. Fast fashion clothes are replaced frequently and the environmental problems faced are very serious. H&M has to take more measures to offset the negative impact. Influence. H&M releases a sustainable fashion report every year, awards the Global Change Award, and launches a series of environmentally-themed clothing.
In addition, H&M’s foundations and venture capital companies often invest in projects or companies related to environmental protection. In addition to Colorifix, H&M also invested in Swedish textile recycling company Re:newcell and an environmentally friendly materials innovation center in the United States called Innovators Hub in 2017.
Environmental protection has always been a serious issue for various fashion brands. The fashion and textile industry is seriously polluting. The main problems include huge industrial water consumption, chemical dye pollution, textile waste, etc. In addition, The use of animal fur is also often criticized. According to the British “Fashion Business Review” magazine, “Twenty thousand liters of water are needed to produce 1 kilogram of cotton thread, and these cotton threads are only enough to produce 1 T-shirt and 1 pair of jeans. At the same time, various garments including dyeing, washing, and decoration The manufacturing process involves 8,000 chemical substances.
” Nowadays, the outside world is paying more and more attention to the sustainable actions of clothing brands. Last year, the British luxury brand Burberry stood in a store for burning its inventory of clothing. At the forefront of public opinion, down jacket brand Canada Goose has also been frequently protested by animal protection organizations for using animal fur. Clothing brands have to put sustainable development in a more important position and create a socially responsible brand image to cater to consumers. Dozens of luxury brands such as CHANEL, Gucci, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and Burberry have announced the ban on fur. In addition, in May 2018, brands such as Nike, H&M, Burberry, and Gap signed an initiative by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation on sustainability issues. Sustainable Fashion is an initiative that aims to reduce waste in the fashion industry. </p
