The Lab Coat Project

The thing I’m most excited about right now in science (especially chemistry) is actually not a new research finding. It’s something to help the people doing the research, which I feel is usually not that high of a priority in STEM. Introducing the community lab coat design and development project being led by the Genius Lab Gear, also called The Lab Coat Project.

I was really excited when I heard about this project last year. So many lab coats are oddly sized or poorly designed (the lab coat graphic below says it all). Most are made for doctors who never work with real chemicals. They admitted they didn’t have all the answers right away, so they decided to crowdsource them and use a data-driven approach to the design and sizing. They are really using the scientific method to design a lab coat just for scientists! After getting over 1000 responses to their feedback form, they are following the data to figure out the design that scientists really want.

Example of a bad lab coat design features.
How to NOT design a lab coat

First, if you haven’t sent them your ideas yet, do it! They still need more data to get the sizing just right. The form takes about 8 minutes and is linked at the top of their project’s main page. You can also apply to be a beta tester for the prototypes!

Second, here’s what they’ve unveiled so far about the direction of the project:

  1. POCKETS! They said the current plan is to have NINE pockets, plus a few more loops for markers and tools. That’s like three times the pockets of the last lab coat I wore.
  2. No unisex version here. They will release men’s and women’s designs that will taper in the right places to get a better fit. They also hinted at having an adjustable belt!
  3. It’ll have a convertible collar that lays flat but can button up when you’re working with more dangerous materials.
  4. They want to offer several different colors and have the data to know which ones are the favorites. But adding these color options depends on the success of the initial launch in the white lab coat.
  5. They promised to share all pricing details, down to the cost of every button. This is in response to some of the high-end designer lab coats made for doctors which cost something like 1/10th of the selling price to make. The current price target is less than $50 to keep it affordable for individuals if their institutions won’t pay for it. 
  6. If things go smoothly, it will be ready near the end of 2022.
Graph showing preferred lab coat cuff type by field.
Looks like we know what kind of cuffs we want on a lab coat!

Lastly, it’s important to recognize what has to happen here. This is a small business with limited resources doing the heavy lifting with a ton of community support. For this to happen, they need the data from you to make a great lab coat, they need word-of-mouth social sharing to avoid advertising costs and they need a strong pre-order campaign to cover some of the costs of the first manufacturing run which may be up to $40,000. I want this to happen SO MUCH, which is why I’m writing this post to help grow the project. 

So what can you do to help?

  1. Add your feedback to their 8-minute form if you haven’t already.
  2. Check out the treasure trove of data on their main page and then share it on your blog or social media to make sure the pre-order campaign is successful. 
  3. Follow them on social media (Twitter, IG, FB) @geniuslabgear and re-share their updates when they come out!

I hope you’ll follow along with me and help make this project a success!