Pollution-eating clothing coming to a retail store near you

What happens when you mix science and fashion? Aside from some bad sweaters and pocket protectors, you get clothing that is coated in nanoparticles designed to eat pollution.

First introduced in March of this year, the concept revolves around the process of coating clothing with nano-sized particles of titanium dioxide that work to convert harmful nitrogen oxide air pollutants into harmless byproducts that can be washed away easily. This could work wonders for those with pollution-based respiratory problems or those who simply want to reverse their environmental footprint. According to the company, one person wearing clothes treated with this laundry additive would be able to remove around 5g of nitrogen oxides from the air in the course of an average day, which is roughly twice the emissions that a passenger vehicle gives off in a normal day.

Catalytic Clothing's CatClo laundry additive is set to hit retail stores soon, although the deal is still being developed. The company says that the additive can be used in the final rinse cycle of a full washing load for as little as 16 cents a load.

If you'd like to see pollution-eating clothing at work yourself, the product will be on display at the Manchester Science Festival in Manchester, UK from October 25 through November 4.

[Image credit: Hanging laundry via Shutterstock]
[via TechCrunch]

This article was written by Shawn Schuster and originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca: