Wills and Cate dye-ing for change

THE Prince of Wales and Hollywood royalty Cate Blanchett donned lab coats as they witnessed up close the hi-tech work of an environmentally friendly clothes dye company.

- By Rebecca Russell Deputy Royal Editor

William and the Australian actress visited labs in Norwich where Colorifix creates its textile dyes.

The company, which was a finalist in William’s Earthshot Prize in 2023, has developed a biological process that replaces the use of harmful chemicals in textile dyes.

Since it was founded in 2016, the brand has partnered with fashion brands including H&M and Pangaia.

As the royal and the double Oscar winner were taken through each step of the process, the Prince asked Sophie Vaud, the head of microbial engineering, to provide a “layman’s version” of the science.

After identifying a colour created naturally by an animal or plant, Colorifix’s scientists sequence the DNA of that organism to find out where the colour is coded in its genetics.