Prince William visits sustainable textile dyes lab

The Prince of Wales and actor Cate Blanchett have complimented the work of a sustainable textile dyes company during a visit to its laboratory.

Colorifix, based in Norwich, Norfolk, uses DNA sequencing to create natural sustainable dyes to reduce water and the use of harmful chemicals in the fashion industry.

In 2023, the company was shortlisted as a finalist for the Earthshot Prize, which was launched by Prince William in 2020.

Jim Ajioka, the company's co-founder and chief scientific officer, said: "Being nominated as a finalist makes a huge amount of difference... having the prince visit our site and actually see what we do matters."

The company was founded after Mr Ajioka and Orr Yarkoni visited Nepal and Bangladesh and saw the devastation left behind from the textile dyeing industry on the natural environment and people's lives.

Colorifix, which also has an office in Cambridge, said it finds colours in nature and "borrows the information" of how it is made and inserts that code into microbes to then convert them into pigment or dye.

On the visit, Mr Ajikoa said that like in any industry it was important to have "public acceptance" and public trust.

During the visit, Prince William and Blanchett, who is an Earthshot Prize council member, observed DNA gel under a microscope and were shown diagrams analysing the effectiveness of the pigments.

Before looking at the sample, Blanchett joked, "What if it explodes?"

However, when shown the diagrams, the prince said he would not "pretend" he knew what the drawing meant.

The pair were also shown the fermentation process where dye is produced in a smaller quantity and then scaled up.

David Clarke, the head of fermentation at the company, said the process was just like brewing.

He said: "Whenever people see scientific equipment and scientific process it's always interesting... the basis of what we do is very, very simple so I think for people to understand that and engage with that is great.

"It's always a big boost to see famous people... I think the team are very proud of what they do and very proud for them to come and visit us."

The Prince of Wales' Earthshot Prize, gives £1m to five winners to offer the best solution to some of the world's biggest climate challenges.

While past ceremonies have been held in London, Boston, Singapore and Cape Town, this year's ceremony is due to take place in Brazil in November.

The prince complimented the staff on their "fantastic" work and apologised for any "stupid questions" he had asked.

"It's going really well, and it's really exciting," he said.

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