There are now several plants-based sustainable alternatives to leather. It outgrows even bamboo – the world’s fastest-growing plant – which only reaches 24 inches a day. SeaCell Kelp Leather. Nowadays, the company creates durable and degradable yarns and other environmentally friendly materials from kelp. Their brilliant Chief Creative Officer Suzanne Lee has been a pioneer for new ways of design, coining the term ‘biocouture’ in 2004. Derived from abundantly available, sustainable sources of raw material, this seaweed leather beats animal leather in terms of sustainability. Be any size, seamlessly. Most of these companies are small and produce a select amount of faux leather. It’s time to use Vegan materials! More good news: a new crop of viable leather alternatives is in production. Kelp is a brown seaweed species, with a long, tough stalk and broad frond. As a city that loves style as much as it loves to shop, it’s crucial that Hong Kong begins questioning the impact fast fashion has on our environment. Companies and consumers are fast becoming more open to faux leather or lather alternatives with the rise of environmental and societal concerns, as well as animal welfare. While all three of these innovative materials are exciting, the challenge is the accessibility and scalability of these products. 3 min read. Your email address will not be published. Faux leather is not only cheaper, but it’s also technically an ethical alternative to leather as no animal products are used. From boots made out of pineapples to recycled hose-pipe belts, check out these exciting new fabrics that are giving the leather industry a run for their money! Needless to say, it’s a win-win situation. Celebrities, designers, and latest news in sustainable fashion. Other sustainable alternatives similar to kelp leather are made from kombucha tea, pineapple foliage, mushrooms, coolstone, tree bark, and even lab cultures of animal cells. Founder Dr. Carmen Hijosa began this journey when she worked in the Philippines and was exposed to the huge environmental impact of the leather industry. Modern Meadow is the company behind this new kind of material and has been changing the innovation game for years. The vegetable leather was invented by Ananas Anam Ltd, a London-based company committed to material research and innovation. The textile geek in me gets so giddy when writing these types of posts. This is another leather substitute that can look and feel like leather. Tree Bark Leather. German brand nat-2™ makes their own mushroom leather and has come out with a line of fungus-made sneakers which shockingly enough resemble top-selling mainstream brands like Nike or Vans. Or continue scrolling through this slideshow for more on sustainable leather alternatives. Currently, only about 430 to 530 square feet of the Italian-made vegetable leather can be produced a month, which is only enough for a small collection. Out of all three examples, biofabricated leather is the least publicly discussed—yet possibly the most intriguing. Arguably the most well-known and widely-used leather alternative in the bunch is Piñatex’s leather made out of pineapple leaves. Their lab-grown leather is made without any animal products or toxic chemicals. For lightning-quick updates delivered to your inbox subscribe to our newsletter. This innovative material manufactured by Ananas Anam, featured in Vogue, is taking the eco-fashion world by storm. The Good Trade is not responsible for the content or the privacy practices of other sites and expressly disclaims any liability arising out of such content or practices. It can be made to resemble high quality, hard wearing suede. While looking for best vegan leather alternatives, this material called kelp leather kept coming up. Additionally, kelp leather is far more versatile than traditional leather, as the shape and size of the usable material are not constrained by the animal’s shape and size, nor by the quirks and flaws found in each skin. The Good Trade covers conscious fashion, beauty, food, wellness, travel and lifestyle. It’s time to stop animal abuse! High-quality alternatives to animal hides from sustainable production technologies and materials are making headway. Header Image Source: SupplyCompass Leather Alternatives Guide. To interact with thousands like you, join your tribe on the Future of Fashion Group. + Words: Suzanne Ruiz Velazco. Vegan leather alternatives are becoming readily available to consumers looking for cruelty-free and more sustainable options to animal-derived leather.. One such option that has taken the fashion world by storm is Piñatex — the leather alternative made from pineapple leaves. Some say that, while using parts of animals in order to make clothing is neither ethical nor environmentally sound, it is preferable to the plastic alternative. Along with the products’ thoughtful manufacturing, Piñatex® also provides ‘scalable commercial business opportunities for rural farming communities,’ UniGuide has stated, many of which are in the Philippines. Aside from traditional barks there has recently been innovation in using other plant materials to tan leather. So far, the company has created car seats, shoes, handbags, and even apparel. It was originally created in Indonesia by XXLab, an all-female collective, from the liquid waste from large scale production of tofu. ... early adopters, and vegan companies looking for alternatives to leather,” she says. Suzanne Ruiz Velazco is an Human Rights advocate and Social Entrepreneur. However, vegan leather was first known as pleather. The vegetable leather was invented by Ananas Anam Ltd, a London-based company committed to material research and innovation. Prototype running sneaker made from Algiknit yarns. Take on any texture. Ocean Leather. Sadly, faux or ‘vegan’ leather can confuse consumers into thinking it’s environmentally-friendly and manufactured ethically when it comes to worker rights, when in fact most faux leather is definitely not. More good news: a new crop of viable leather alternatives is in production. But, are vegan-leather alternatives actually better for our environment than the real thing? AlgiKnit Inc. is a biomaterials company from New York, known for integrating science and design into textile production. Similar to cork but made from sustainable timber, wood leather is durable, strong and one piece is never like another, due to the varied natural grains of the product. In recent years, there’s been a contentious debate in the fashion world between the use of animal (i.e. Arguably the most well-known and widely-used leather alternative in the bunch is Piñatex’s leather made out of pineapple leaves. Soy leather. Modern Meadow’s inventions aren’t quite accessible at the moment, though their vision for the future is lofty and bright. Most imitation manmade leather on the market is not a sustainable or healthy choice. Mushroom leather is a way to bypass the use of animals and help keep our natural environment healthy at the same time. Before “sustainable fashion” became more mainstream, some of the only real leather alternatives you had were made out of new plastic. Not only is it a natural and sustainable material—it … This Gorgeous, Sustainable “Leather” Is Made From Pineapple Waste. SeaCell is a branded type of kelp leather developed by … While the innovative material is extremely sustainable, it has also made its way into brands large and small such as Hugo Boss, Po-Zu, Votch, and Nae. However, these animal leather alternatives involve manufacturing processes which are not entirely non-toxic or eco-friendly. Furthermore, leather is plastic leather made from PVC (polyvinyl chloride), PU (polyurethane) or textile-polymer composite microfibres. It seems impossible that something so sturdy could be made from something we normally chop up for dinner, but this mushroom-based leather isn’t produced from a species you can eat. Audrey Stanton was born and raised in the Bay Area and is currently based in Los Angeles. But, unlike bamboo, kelp is harvested from coastal waters, so that it doesn’t require fertilisers, pesticides, or other toxic chemicals usually required for land plants. The German company Deepmello developed and sell leather tanned using rhubarb instead of chromium. Sustainable Style: Eco and Ethical Leather Alternatives From pineapple jackets to leaf backpacks, ethical shopping is paving a sustainable way forward – and leather alternatives are here to stay. For more on sustainable alternatives, take a look at our Fabric Switch: Leather guide. It can even be made as fine and thin as real leather, to create coats and trousers. H&M’s latest Conscious collection, a sustainably-minded capsule, makes use of Piñatex, a fibre made in the Philippines from discarded pineapple leaves to make faux-leather. nat-2™ also utilizes a parasite fungus found in nature, though the brand combines it with eco-cotton and recycled water bottles to produce their unique shoes. The company reach media popularity when in 2o18 it produced durable seaweed yarns for a compostable Nike sneaker. Mushrooms, pineapples, and active cultures have all been tapped to produce a more sustainable future for fashion. The resulting material looks like leather but it is much softer and more flexible. According to the company, the resulting material is 100 per cent biodegradable and carbon-neutral. That is thanks to the vitamin E and other nutrients found in Kelp, that are absorbed by the wearer’s skin. This imitation leather is made of what the company calls ‘nature’s essential protein,’ aka collagen. 6. Yet, with innovation comes challenges—the sustainable fashion world has conquered many other mountains before these ones. Moreover, the material seems to have extra health benefits. Not only is this mushroom leather engineered in an eco-friendly manner, but the use of Phellinus ellipsoideus alone is also environmentally beneficial. We categorise many of these as vegan leather. When comparing synthetic alternatives, such as PVC, and alternative “leather” materials, the qualities of genuine leather have to be considered. Dr. Carmen Hijosa and her team explain on their site that ‘the Piñatex® journey is inspired by the principles of a Circular Economy and Cradle to Cradle values.’ This means that the company creates with the full lifecycle of the material in mind. Rhubarb tanning. Piñatex is a leather alternative made from pineapple leaf fibres. Vegan and Sustainable Leather Alternatives to Watch Out For. There are some great sustainable leather options out there like Piñatex, (made from pineapple leaf fibers), mushroom skin, cork, and real lab grown leather. Natural alternatives being trialled for use in footwear and accessories include cork fabric from Mediterranean Cork Oak trees, bark fibre reinforced with polymers, and leather substitutes derived from pineapple, grapes, mushrooms and seaweed. Piñatex® leather is produced by using raw materials which are the byproduct of the pineapple harvest, aka food waste, which is often discarded or burned. The company is still in research and development, but they’re working with some global brands to hopefully one day bring the product to market. These materials are often not available to the average brand and cannot be utilized in an impactful way. This debate brings up complex issues and is not easily solvable; however, the rise in vegetable leathers is making the argument obsolete. Moreover, kelp is known to absorb large CO2 quantities from the atmosphere, up to 5x more CO2 than any other land plants. Pineapple leather is still in the early stages of adoption, but catching the eyes of many as it breaks all the rules of traditional production. This material is known as ocean leather because it … A vegan leather skirt by sustainable luxury designer Matea Benedetti. Founder Dr. Carmen Hijosa began this journey when she worked in the Philippines and was exposed to the huge environmental … Previous solutions like plastic-based textiles (e.g., pleather, which is made from polyurethane) and other synthetic textiles have been used as alternatives to leather. Her work hasn’t received the spotlight it deserves, but she continues to work hard for a more sustainable and creative future. According to the online publication Lifegate, this includes using an ‘eco-wax’ and other eco-friendly products in order to create ‘special characteristics to the leather.’ This all ends in a product which has a shocking suede-like touch! In addition to being incredibly sustainable, mushroom leather is water-repellent, nontoxic, and is durable enough to create fashion items which would traditionally be made out of leather. The leather alternatives market is expected to reach $85 billion by 2025, according to Grand View Research data. 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