Catalytic Clothing: Breathtaking

One approach to sustainable fashion is to make clothing that has a minor or nearly harmless impact on the environment, animals and people. But what if you could take it further, and instead of just being neutral, you could actually destroy pollution with every step you take? What if you could convert your entire existing wardrobe into an arsenal that fights industrial and motor-vehicle air pollution? This is the concept behind Catalytic Clothing. Artist, designer Professor Helen Storey MBE and scientist Professor Tony Ryan OBE collaborated on the "art intervention" where a photocatalyst is added to the wash cycle of clothing, transforming otherwise ordinary tee shirts, jeans or a cotton blazer into super-clothes.

Catalytic Clothing harnesses the power of a photocatalyst to break down air borne pollutants. A catalyst is a term used to describe something that makes a reaction proceed at a greater rate but isn’t actually consumed during that reaction. A photocatalyst gains the energy it needs to be active from light.