In episode 274, Kestrel welcomes Michelle Zhu, the CEO & cofounder of Huue, to the show. In an effort to replace toxic chemical dyes in apparel, Huue are developing biosynthetic dyes — their initial focus is to provide an alternative to synthetic indigo.
“We are creating a biosynthetic solution that is a one-to-one drop-in replacement into the textile supply chain. We’re creating these bio-identicals that can minimize the footprint of production of these dyes and pigments, but without disrupting the supply chain process that is required to make the authentic look and feel of denim that everybody knows and loves.”
-Michelle Zhu
Are you familiar with biosynthetics? If so, do you understand what they are or how they operate? So often terms like this get thrown around in the *sustainability* space, without a lot of context or definitions. They are assumed to fall into the good box or the bad box, when yet again – there is a lot more information needed to understand the bigger picture.
So, here’s the super basics – biosynthetics are made of renewable materials, instead of being petroleum based. We often hear about them from a fiber stance, so fabrics made up of biopolymers from corn or sugar or other ingredients. But on this week’s show, we’re diving into more on how biosynthetics are being used for textile dyeing.
Today, the majority of our clothes are colored with synthetic dyes. If we look back, the first synthetic dye was accidentally discovered in the 1850s when an 18-year old chemist was searching for a treatment for malaria. And since then, they’ve gradually taken over due to their speed and efficacy.
But take indigo – the color that we align with denim. Today, every kilogram of synthetic indigo produced uses 75x the amount of petroleum. And it involves the use of dangerous chemicals like benzene, formaldehyde, and sodamide.
This week’s guest cofounded a company that’s leveraging biosynthetics to address the extreme toxicity across the textile dye industry. They’ve started with indigo blue, and are building one-to-one solutions that can be inserted directly into the current manufacturing infrastructure.
Quotes & links from the conversation:
“This Melinda Gates-backed biotech startup is growing bacteria that make sustainable dye for denim”, article in Fast Company
"How These Founders Are Detoxifying the Denim Industry--and Saving the Planet", article in Inc.
"Using synthetic biology platforms to clean up indigo dye-making", article in Axios
"Best Inventions of 2021 - Huue: Blue Jeans Go Green", article in TIME
Huue’s Website >
Follow Huue on Instagram >
S03 Episode 121 | NEST + BUILDING A NEW HANDWORKER ECONOMY
S03 Episode 120 | THR3EFOLD, SOURCING ETHICAL FACTORIES + LOOKING BEYOND TRANSPARENCY
S03 Episode 119 | STATE OF FASHION + SEARCHING FOR THE NEW LUXURY
S03 Episode 118 | FIBERSHED + REGENERATIVE TEXTILE SYSTEMS
S03 Episode 117 | INDUSTRY OF ALL NATIONS + THE IDENTITY OF PRODUCTS
S03 Episode 116 | MARA HOFFMAN ROUND 2, AN UPDATE ON SUSTAINABILITY, GROWTH + EVOLUTION
S03 Episode 115 | OLORI + THE DIVINE RIGHT OF QUEENS
S03 Episode 114 | MODERN MACRAME
S03 Episode 113 | RESONANCE + CONNECTING ART WITH COMMERCE
S03 Episode 112 | NEO•THREAD, ONE-OF-A-KIND GEMS + COOL GIRLS CARE
S03 Episode 111 | ADITI MAYER, ADIMAY + REVOLUTION WASHING
S03 Episode 110 | BUY GOOD FEEL GOOD + ELEVATING ACCESS FOR SHOPPERS AND BRANDS
S03 Episode 109 | FINERY + MAKING USE OF THE WARDROBE YOU ALREADY HAVE
S03 Episode 108 | G-STAR RAW + THE MOST SUSTAINABLE JEANS EVER
S03 Episode 107 | SHOP GOOD + INTENTIONS FOR WELLNESS
S03 Episode 106 | CRAFTIVISTS + THE ART OF GENTLE PROTEST
S03 Episode 105 | THE CORDES FOUNDATION + SUPPLY CHAIN STORIES
S02 Episode 104 | WOOLN + GRANDMAS IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN
S02 Episode 103 | WHAT IS BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY + THE SOCIAL IMPACT ECONOMY
S02 Episode 102 | MELANIN & SUSTAINABLE STYLE + ETHICAL FASHION AS A PRIVILEGED WHITE GIRL THING
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Just Dumb Enough Podcast
Voices of Misery Podcast
House of Whimsical Terror
Stuff You Should Know
Timcast IRL