DNA doesn’t just make us, us. It also makes many of the colours we see in the natural world. So instead of using synthetic dyes to colour the DNA T Shirt, we use genetically engineered microorganisms and DNA.

If you’re wondering how to genetically engineer the colour blue, you access one of the world’s open-source biomolecular databases, select a protein enzyme found in the cells of the indigo plant, implant its DNA sequence into a self-replicating single bacterial cell, brew that bacteria like beer, then submerge the sweatshirt in the DNA soup we’ve brewed up. The enzyme produces different shades of colour depending on the types of sugars we feed it during fermentation, so the specific blue colour of each t shirt will be a little bit different.