Can a Shirt Help Tackle Pollution?

Environmentalism and fashion are possibly not two concepts that you would normally associate together. However, a New York City-based designer has attempted to right that wrong by bringing out Aerochromics, a new range of shirts which change colour when exposed to excessive levels of pollution.

Nikolas Gregory Bentel is something of an old hand when it comes to eye-catching stunts like this, having previously released jewellery which goes through a person’s digestive tract before sale and a fake estate agency which promises to safeguard client assets in the event of climate change.

Raising awareness

The shirts come in three different styles, each reacting to a different pollutant. In normal conditions they appear to be uniformly black, but prolonged exposure to harmful levels of carbon monoxide, particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) and radiation (respectively) activate heat pads inside the shirts’ material. This in turn changes the colour of the fabric, morphing into a black and white pattern.

Though the prototype shirts retail at $500, Bentel is adamant that Aerochromics is primarily an attempt to raise awareness and only a business venture as an afterthought. “I am not too interested in selling a lot of the clothing,” he explained. “The online shop is secondary to the concept. I see Aerochromics first as a statement.”

Though there are many apps which can monitor air quality available on Smartphone, tablet or PC, Bentel believes that his product has more impact due to its immediacy – the wearer (and those around him) will be able to see instantly when pollution levels climb.

“The shirt forces the user to be aware of pollution levels constantly,” he added. “I wanted to apply this tech to an object that was already being used without hesitation every day and was visible from any direction.”

Powerful activism or artful fad?

While Bentel maintains that he already has a waiting list on those looking to order the shirts – and that he promises to drop their price tag over time – it’s debatable how much of an impact they will actually have on world pollution.

The technology behind the garment is undoubtedly ingenious, since they will only change colour when pollution levels escalate above those considered as “safe” by the Environmental Protection Agency. The PM2.5 and carbon monoxide models are also capable of morphing back to black if air quality improves.

But although they might draw attention to the predicament in an innovative new way, are they really helping? On a practical level, no. However, raising awareness about a problem that kills over 3 million people on an annual basis around the globe could be half the battle. This is especially true in the developed world; it’s commonplace to think of countries such as India and China as having poor air quality, but places like London, Paris and Bentel’s home city of New York are still guilty of having medically dangerous levels of pollution. As a result, their citizens’ lives may be at risk.

“It makes people more aware of the pollution around them,” commented Mark Jacobson, an engineering professor at Stanford University. In particular, Jacobson raised the potential for the shirts to act as a further deterrent for the use of cigarettes. “It might make smokers more cognizant of the pollution they are inflicting on non-smokers,” he said.