Spirulina (a type of algae) is grown in California using sunlight, water and carbon dioxide from the air. Algae grow faster than terrestrial plants and are renewable. When algae grows it absorbs carbon dioxide and produces oxygen. Algae do not use traditional farmland, thus production does not displace food production.

The spirulina are grown to produce a blue colorant called phycocyanin, which is extracted and used as a natural food colorant. The remaining material is considered algae by-product, and is then used to make the bio-based black algae pigment on our tees!

The pigment is purified and milled to form a dispersion with similar characteristics to other traditional petroleum based pigments.

The pigment is used to create the first commercially available water based ink with bio-based pigments. Using this ink, the tees are screen printed (also in California, where the algae are grown and the tees are manufactured), then shipped to us here in Miami.