Prince William will be heading to Norwich next week to visit an Earthshot Prize Finalist alongside a big Hollywood name. According to Kensington Palace, the Prince of Wales is set to visit Colorifix, a UK-based biotechnology company in Norwich, that creates sustainable dye for clothing.
He will be joined by actress Cate Blanchett, who is also an Earthshot Prize Council Member. The duo will tour the company’s laboratories and will be taken through each stage of the dye process. Colorifix were a 2023 Earthshot Prize Finalist for the category Build a Waste Free World and uses DNA sequencing and nature’s own colours to create sustainable dyes that reduce the fashion industry’s use of water and harmful chemicals.
William and Ms Blanchett will be shown how Colorifix can identify the DNA code that produces the pigment and how the dye liquid is attached to the fabric before hearing about how the process saves water, energy, and carbon emissions at every step.
The company’s solution to the negative environmental impact of chemically synthesised dyes identifies a colour created naturally by an animal, plant, or microbe.
Once the colour has been selected, DNA sequencing is used to identify where that colour is coded in the genetics of that organism, which is then translated into a safe microbe that is transported to a dye house to support the growth of the colour via fermentation.
This results in a dye that can be used on natural and synthetic fabrics, yarns, and garments in standard dye machinery with zero added petrochemicals.
Colorifix has partnered with a number of high-profile fashion brands, including H&M, Pangaia and Vollebak, since its inception in 2016 and now counts 85 people as its employees.
The Prince of Wales has always been passionate about sustainability and a big advocate in environmental change.
In 2019, he launched the Earthshot prize, designed to discover, accelerate and scale ground-breaking solutions to repair and regenerate the planet.