Black Algae Dyed Polo Shirt
The original polo shirt, reinvented with the world’s first black algae dye.
- Dye made from algae waste
- Garment dyed for softness
- Buttons made from plant waste
The colour black is everywhere. From our phones to our cars to the ink in our pens. But black has a dark side. Every black thing you own is likely to contain carbon black – a pigment derived from petroleum. The way carbon black is made isn’t sustainable. Vast tracts of land called tar sands are stripped of all life and vegetation to extract the heavy petroleum, while the production process creates significant greenhouse gases. So we’re on a search for the new black.
Over 5 years of R&D have gone into creating the first ever black algae dye. And now we’re using it to recreate one of the first pieces of sports gear ever made – the polo shirt. Each shirt is built from a textured, breathable cotton and two bio-resin buttons made from plant waste, before being garment dyed in black algae dye for a soft and relaxed feel and finish.
Technical Details
Made with patterned cotton piqué
Polo shirts are typically heavier than normal t shirts, so our material has a nice comfortable weight to it. Piqué’s weave pattern of raised parallel cords gives the shirt a textured but soft feel, while the structure allows the fabric to breathe so you stay comfortable in the heat. We carried out 6 months of lab tests to successfully dye our shirt, trying different fabrics, dyeing temperatures, and pigment concentrations, before finding the perfect combination.
Turning algae into dye took 5 years of R&D
To create a black algae dye, each individual particle in the pigment needs to be microscopically small, otherwise the shirt’s fibres won’t absorb them. So Living Ink have spent 5 years in R&D working on how to reduce the size of the black algae particles to an average of 1 micron. This breakthrough creates a sustainable alternative to dyeing clothing using traditional carbon-black based dyes, and with a clear pathway for scaling up.
Size + Fit
The Black Algae Dyed Polo Shirt is designed with a regular fit.
Size | XS | S | M | L | XL | XXL |
Fits chest | 83 - 90 | 91 - 98 | 99 - 106 | 107 - 114 | 115 - 122 | 123 - 130 |
Fits waist | 71 - 76 | 76 - 81 | 81 - 86 | 86 - 91 | 91 - 96 | 96 - 101 |
Size | XS | S | M | L | XL | XXL |
Fits chest | 33 - 36 | 36 - 39 | 39 - 42 | 42 - 45 | 45 - 48 | 48 - 51 |
Fits waist | 28 - 30 | 30 - 32 | 32 - 34 | 34 - 36 | 36 - 38 | 38 - 40 |