Colorifix
Strategic fit
Colorifix’s technology reduces water, energy and chemical consumption during the dyeing process. This contributes to decreasing our scope 3 emissions, which account for the largest part of our emissions. The first garments using Colorifix’s technology were launched by H&M in 2021 and the company is now a regular partner to the H&M Group.
Going forward
Our partnership with Colorifix continues to strengthen and we are working closely together to bring their technology to scale via our supply chain network and H&M Group brands. As Colorifix brings new colours to market, we look forward to incorporating these into our assortment to improve our customer offering, whilst telling the powerful story about the sustainability benefits of their dyes over conventional dyes.
Colorifix was founded by two synthetic biologists who were developing biological sensors to monitor heavy metal contamination in drinking water in rural Nepal.
While testing these sensors in Kathmandu, Jim and Orr began to learn about the enormous impact of the dyeing industry on water and human health. They realised that, rather than simply monitoring the problem, they had the tools to solve it. With some creativity and a bit of luck, Colorifix was founded in 2016.
Colorifix is developing a sustainable dyeing process using biological processes and microorganisms to produce, deposit and fix pigments onto textiles. Using a synthetic biology approach, the company can eliminate the use of harsh, toxic chemicals and drastically reduce water consumption compared to conventional dyeing while meeting key industry quality standards, like OEKO-TEX®. Colorifix have global manufacturing partners in Portugal, India and Brazil.
They haven’t done it alone though. Participation in the Fashion for Good accelerator as well as the support of investor partners SAGANA, Cambridge Enterprise, Primera Impact and H&M Group Ventures have been a huge boost. Colorifix was a finalist in the 2023 Earthshot Prize and is also a proud winner of the Andam Innovation Prize and Biostart.
