“Science and fashion are still quite separate, but I think together they’re the only way to rectify the damage we’ve done,” says designer Olivia Rubens, who has recently made bio-garments commercial, with a capsule collection of photosynthetic garments.
Let’s take a moment to understand photosynthetic fashion: experimental clothing infused with micro-organisms that absorb carbon from atmospheric CO2 and emit oxygen back, essentially photosynthesizing. The carbon sequestering characteristics of these garments have led collaborating scientists and fashion designers to dub them as ‘climate positive fashion.’ Research shows that a medium cotton t-shirt has similar photosynthesizing capabilities as that of a young tree.
Tracing the development of bio-couture
The term ‘biogarmentry’ became quite popular in fashion circles back in 2019; gaining momentum on the heels of scientist, Roya Aghighi’s photosynthetic textiles. With a team at University of British Columbia, she created a breathing, non-woven fabric by spinning single-celled green algae, chlamydomonas reinhardtii, with nano-polymers. The outcome was a living, compostable pseudo-linen that converted carbon dioxide into oxygen. Aghighi believed that the clothes could improve the immediate environment of the wearer, and worn en masse could help regulate carbon emissions.
However, the subculture of lab-grown microbial fashion has been in existence for a while. Suzanne Lee’s design studio BioCouture made clothes ‘grown using bacteria’ in 2012. Later in 2015, Post Carbon Lab was dyeing fabrics pink and purple using zero water and bacterial pigments only. Lee combined material engineering, synthetic biology and sewing methods to produce a collection of experimental jackets and shoes. The items were made of bacterial cellulose, which has leather-like properties. She explains the process as a fermentation recipe: “The recipe that I’ve been exploring to grow a piece of clothing uses a symbiotic mix of yeast and bacteria. It’s a fermentation method. So the fibres, the material itself and the formation of the garment has been done by a microbe rather than a plant.”
IMAGE: via Post Carbon Lab| IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Bacterial pigment dyes minimise wastewater
Photosynthetic knitwear by Olivia Rubens – added to cart
This April saw a big breakthrough for alternative materials as carbon sequestering knitwear infused with living organisms became commercially available. In Olivia Ruben’s capsule collection garments, balaclavas and handbags were incorporated with upcycled crochet tablecloths, old ceramic kitchenware and then coated with a photosynthetic live bacterial concoction! The pieces were made of ethical alpaca, Tencel, organic wool and GOTS certified cotton which the bacteria could easily bond to.
Ruben’s collection, aptly named Photosynethsize was a collaborative effort. The design research studio, Post Carbon Lab, founded by Dian-Jen Lin and Hannes Hulstaert was essential in extending the use-case of scientific experimental fashion to mass market. “We are the last generation of people with the power to decide if we consume sustainably,” says Lin.
Ruben’s collection is not only climate positive but she also took the initiative to make responsibly – with social cooperatives, such as the women refugee organisation Manusa in Italy, and Making For Change who employs rehabilitating women from prison. Lastly, it was launched in partnership with London-based concept store Machine-A, where each piece sold for $300 each.
IMAGE: via Olivia Rubens | IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Olivia Ruben’s Photosynthesize collection includes balaclavas
From experimentation to commercialisation
From the choice of fabric to the content of care labels, it was a series of question marks before Rubens and Post Carbon Lab could brand their scientific experiments ready to wear. Rubens revealed that initially they weren’t sure of what could kill off the bacteria and even sewing needles were criminal suspects. They found that knitwear provided the best grip for bacteria to adhere to: “Like moss, it’s a mini forest, and you have the bacteria in there doing its thing to make it live.”
Washing was another critical point; just as plants shouldn’t be drowned, neither should photosynthetic clothes. All the pieces of the collection come with specific care instructions such as ‘regularly mist the clothes’ with pH friendly and eco-friendly detergents. However, these care criteria can be dependent on geography as well, for example, rainy regions with natural humidity require less sprays than dry climates. Further, since each piece of clothing is alive – it requires natural light to thrive and photosynthesize and shoving into dark corners of overflowing wardrobes is no longer an option.
The simple fact is living garments need TLC and consumers need to become care-takers so as to keep their clothes living and breathing. This can potentially change the common perceptions of fashion and our relationships with wardrobes. While Ruben’s designs were a limited edition capsule sold exclusively at Machine-A, logistics and storage are important when scaling for mass-market commercialisation.
Photosynthetic clothing is also a social psychology experiment
Caring for your clothes, is not a tall ask – but biogarmentry takes it to new heights. Roya Aghighi’s living photosynthetic fashion could be composted at disposal. They had a lifespan of one month, with a variable extension period based on levels of care. Such innovation creates a strong case for an attitude makeover – from ‘buy, use and dispose’ to ‘buy, care for and compost.’
But how do you know if you’re taking adequate care of your clothing? Apart from religiously misting and circulating garments for sun-exposure, Lin reveals that the key to communicating with your living clothes is in their colour. Till date, the lab-grown photosynthetic fashion by both Post Carbon Lab and Aghighi are all in a wide spectrum of green shades. This is due to the type of microorganisms used in the coating. Only green garments signal happy microbes – “in case that they’re not happy, and they need your love or attention, they would transition to a different colour. It could be purple, orange or almost red, yellow or just transparent, the colour would disappear.”
Rubens knitwear capsule is also a means to learn from consumer experiences. With each item purchased, a QR code is made available to buyers who can later report back with regular updates about their clothing’s state of being. Rubens believes that there are many intriguing variables in this experiment. From emotional attachment and lifespans to the amount of carbon that can be sequestered. Through this interactive collection she also hopes to re-shape people who aren’t value-based in their consumption habits or doubt their individual agency when it comes to climate solutions.
Rubens took her experiment to market, but it was as an extension of Aghighi’s thought process. In her project on biogarmentry, she states: “Since the life cycle of the living photosynthetic textile is directly dependent on how it is taken care of, the work challenges our current relationship to clothing, acting as a catalyst for behavioural change. The living aspect of the textile will shift our consumption-oriented habits towards forming a sustainable future.”
With advancements being made to gauge the sequestering capacities of photosynthetic fashion, scientists are hopeful that they could potentially offset a part of the emissions released by this industry. And if commercialization is round the next corner, we can breathe a little easy, at least until the next climate calamity hits.
FEATURED IMAGE: via Madisons Innovative | IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Roya Aghighi’s biogarmentry shirt