A new line of shirts from Aerochromic warn you of air pollutants by changing its pattern. No word yet on how the awareness of the level of air pollutants, which you can know by dishing out 500 dollars or more, would increase public health, but at least you’ll be aware.
Aerochromic presents three options for the interested consumer: the Reactive Particle Pollution Shirt, Reactive Carbon Monoxide Shirt, and Reactive Radioactivity shirt. Should you wear the first shirt, it would change according to solid particles and liquid droplets in the air.
The second shirt would be handy for detecting the infamous colorless, odorless carbon monoxide, which is often produced from burning fuel. The last shirt is made to detect Radon, which lurks in many urban spaces and in homes. The shirt clarity and pattern is concentration dependent. The patterns become sharper as it comes into contact with more pollutants.
Bentel recognizes the importance of becoming aware, as air quality change is happening at too fast of a pace. A stated on the Aerochromic website, “Our air quality is deteriorating quickly and on a global scale. As more and more pollutants saturate the air we breathe, urban spaces must be closely monitored in order to guarantee that they are safe for people to live in. In fact, we estimate that 30% of the world currently breathes unsafe air – air at 60 AQI and above.”
Nikolas Bentel designed the shirts out of fear for the future. After imagining a disastrous world 20 years from now that we would live in if reducing pollution was disregarded, Bentel decided to make real-world applications.
In order to avoid a future where breathing and lung problems are a reality for everyone, Bentel wanted to allow individuals to make a decision for their well-being now. It’s a start.
