Why's leather cruel and polluting?
And what alternatives are these 3 startups offering?
The leather industry has been under scrutiny for a long time as a result of being an animal byproduct.
To manufacture those belts, purses, shoes and bags, more than a billion animals are slaughtered annually.
Most of the leather comes from India, China and other countries where there are no animal protection laws or they are completely ignored.
Apart from abusing these animals, the leather industry hurts our environment as well.
Converting animal skin into leather requires huge amounts of toxic chemicals and the raising of these animals consumes a lot of natural resources and pollutes the air, water and land.
For those working in the tanning industry, an increased risk of cancer has been reported.
Here’s how 3 startups are developing alternatives to leather to protect animals, people and the planet⬇️
🍂 An alternative created from a natural waste product
How’s leather made… Animal hides are treated with chemicals to harden the leather through a process called tanning and it happens in a tannery. But tanneries use only 35% of the hides supplied to them and the rest end up in a landfill. The process also consumes a lot of water and 90% of it ends up as effluent (containing sulphides, chrome salts, organic nitrogen and high organic matter).
Pineapple Leather…During one of her trips to the Philippines, leather goods expert, Dr. Carmen Hijosa experimented with local plants and realized that wasted pineapple leaves were a great alternative (owing to their strength and flexibility) to leather. She spent the next 7 years researching the product and thus was born the pineapple-based leather, Piñatex.
The pineapple leaves are washed and dried in the sun and then undergo a purification process (resulting in a fluffy fibre).
This fibre is blended with corn-based polylactic acid (a plastic polymer) and turned into a non-woven mesh called Piñafelt.
This mesh is then sent for finishing, where it is coloured using pigments certified by GOTS, an organic & ecological textile certificate.
Win-win-win…By using pineapple leaves that would have otherwise been incinerated or left to rot, Piñatex’s parent firm Ananas Anam (a certified B Corp) is preventing animal cruelty, saving animal hides from entering the landfills and preventing water bodies from getting polluted by chemicals. As Piñatex contains polylactic acid (PLA), it is not 100% biodegradable but Ananas Anam is working on it.
🍄 A ‘fungi based’ alternative to leather
Leather’s stack of problems…Apart from the pollution created by tanneries, rearing cattle (cow and buffalo hides are the most popular ones) causes greenhouse gas emissions. Cattle rearing in fact is responsible for approximately 14.5% of the global greenhouse gas emissions.
Mushroom leather…US-based Mycoworks uses mycelium (the vegetative part of fungi or mushroom which is grown underground) to create a material that is animal-free, plastic-free and has the exact look and feel of leather. Sold as Reishi textile, here’s how it’s manufactured-
The company produces sheets of fine mycelium of the required designs and shapes through indoor mushroom farming.
Agricultural waste such as sawdust and organic material is added to it to provide durability and strength.
It is then tanned and dyed through a natural dyeing process(no tannery chemicals).
More reasons to switch…Rigorous testing on Reishi has shown that it actually outperforms leather in strength, durability and appearance. While Cowhide’s tensile strength (maximum load that a material can support when stretched) is 8+ MPa, Reishi’s strength comes at 10MPa. Reishi also matches Cowhide’s durability at 100,000+ cycles and looks just as good as premium leather.
🥥 Made from coconut, these products have a circular life cycle
Killed for their skin…Billions of animals are slaughtered every year to become part of the leather industry. With access to 20% of the world’s cattle, the Indian Leather Industry accounts for about 12.9% of the world’s leather production.
Coconut leather… In 2018, Zuzana Gombošová and Susmith CS realized that many coconuts in India go to waste after every season either due to excess stock or going stale. With their shared concern for sustainability and a passion for the fashion industry, they started Malai (Hindi for cream), where they create a biocomposite material from waste coconut water that gives the feel of leather and is absolutely organic.
They work with local farmers and collecting units in South India to collect waste coconut water.
This water is sterilized, fermented and refined to create sheets of the raw material.
Sheets of varying thicknesses are created and dyed using natural dyeing processes.
Building an ethical supply chain…Malai’s production process consumes less water & energy, is entirely organic and especially doesn’t harm any animals. To manufacture their products, the team collaborates with local communities of makers and suppliers whose ethical approach is verified. Unlike faux leather, which essentially creates plastic, these products can be disposed of without harming the environment.
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Here are the responses to the last edition’s quiz- Walmart, Rivian, TerraCycle
😲Eye Openers
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Infectious diseases are more likely to spread in these areas.
We’ve fallen right into this trap.
This rainforest is releasing more carbon than it stores.
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