
Vollebak materials scientists have developed a coat that changes color based on ambient lighting, going from orange in bright sunlight to glowing “kryptonite” green at night after being charged with a bright flashlight or car headlights.
The Firefly Jacket’s fabric is composed of five ultra-thin alternating layers, three of which are translucent polyamide mesh. The other two are the color-shifting membranes, one of which is phosphorescent, the other fluorescent. The phosphorescent and fluorescent compounds in those membranes absorb and reemit the light, giving the jacket its glow-in-the-dark effects.
Indoors, on a cloudy day or under low-light conditions, the jacket is copper-colored. Under a blacklight, it glows yellow. Vollebak released its first glow-in-the-dark jacket in 2017, the lightweight Solar Charged Jacket, for running.