In Britain, scientists have developed high-fashion dresses that can disappear even faster—dissolving in hot water. The material is the brainchild of University of Sheffield chemist Tony Ryan, aided by British designer Helen Storey and a team from the University of Ulster. They don’t intend to market the dress, but see it as a “metaphor for wastefulness,” says Ryan.
He and Storey are experimenting with other forms and possible uses for their dissolving polymer, such as in containers of detergent: when you’re done with the jug, you just throw it in the washer. Their next project is a soap bottle that not only dissolves in water but yields a nutrient-rich gel that can be used as a growing medium to nurture seeds embedded in the lid of a bottle. Of course the gel and the seeds would then have to be put into a flowerpot. That sure beats winding up in the garbage dump.
