Dian-Jen Lin

With a background in design and fashion, Dian-Jen Lin began to question the impact of her work on the environment and society. Did she want to continue to work in an industry that failed to take account of the climate crisis, or stand up for social injustice? In a bid to find some answers she headed to London to study fashion’s environmental and social sustainability.

Here she became interested in the idea of bio-manufacturing – collaborating with natural microorganisms abundant in our local environments to create sustainable colours, pigments and finishes that could be used in the textile manufacturing process. Dian-Jen began to research and develop her ideas, and Post Carbon Lab Ltd was born.

“We were tired of greenwashing marketing headlines from the industry,” explains Dian-Jen. “There is an urgent need for change. We believe the fashion and textile industry really can play a positive ecological role by collaborating with the natural compounds abundant in our local environments to reduce the reliance on petrochemicals.”

As an immigrant from an ethnic minority and with limited English proficiency, Dian-Jen is incredibly proud of her innovative work, and how far she’s come. She believes in the importance of encouraging other women to pursue their passions, regardless of their socioeconomic or cultural background. And she looks forward to being able to inspire up and coming entrepreneurs to believe in themselves and seize every opportunity.