Going vegan is more than changing the way you eat. The axe also falls on all animal-sourced products — most notably, leather. While opting for vegan leather may sound like a wise choice, it’s important to read the fine print. Often made of PVC, with a leather-like finish, these materials are heavily treated with chemicals. Moreover, if you are going off animal leather for ecological reasons, then the polyurethane will let you down; they are as bad for the environment as plastic.
However, all is not lost. Plant-based options are fast catching up. From pineapple leaves and mushrooms, to kelp and the bark of cork trees, alternatives to leather are now coming from the most unusual sources.
According to Marco Gozzani, of Grado Zero Innovation — a research, consulting and prototyping organisation based in Florence, Italy, that develops and commercialises new materials and technologies — eco-alternatives for the leather market have reached critical mass and can stand on their own. “There is a growing awareness about the sustainable use of Earth’s resources and this creates a market demand that is growing day by day,” he says.
The idea of plant-based leather is exciting for Delhi-based designer Amit Aggarwal. “Such leather is biodegradable and doesn’t harm animals or release toxic tanning chemicals into the environment. It’s a whole new design element that has characteristics like breathability and comfort, which can contribute to its success in the market,” says the designer, who is no stranger to sustainability in fashion, having worked with plastic and sequin waste in his designs. So if you’ve sworn off leather, but can’t imagine taking a cloth bag to work every day, here are some new-age options.
Cork it up
Everybody has a favourite tote, but the best ones in the market are inevitably made of leather. This is where cork, taken off the bark of cork trees in the Mediterranean and mounted on to fabric backing, finds favour. Shivani Patel of Arture, a Chennai-based firm that creates cork products, believes this is the perfect alternative to leather, since it is both cruelty-free and biodegradable.
“While PV or PVC products may claim to be cruelty-free, they are synthetic and do not degrade organically. We took both criteria into consideration while developing Arture,” she adds. Despite the popular misconception that cork is a hard and brittle material, it is actually soft and as durable as leather, she insists. Patel also adds that the lightweight nature of the material means that “large tote bags end up being feather-light”, a boon for those used to carrying their world around in their handbags.
Prices start at ₹1,500 for a card holder and go up to ₹9,000 for a tote. Details: myarture.com
Try the pineapple
For Dr Carmen Hijosa, working on leather products left her feeling that the industry really needs a more eco-friendly alternative. She noticed that in the Philippines, where she worked, there was a surplus of pineapple leaves that were used by the locals to create a sturdy fibre. With a bit of tweaking, Piñatex was created. Vegan and ethical, the material is naturally water-resistant but not waterproof. But that hasn’t stopped brands like Puma and Camper from using it to create a range of bags and shoes. Piñatex, which has a felt-like texture, is not biodegradable, but can be repurposed. Its parent company, Ananas Anam, is working towards creating a biodegradable version.
“Due to the scale of contemporary production of leather, we need to be making serious changes in the way we produce and consume textiles, and we are proud to be part of that change,” says Claire Mueller, who handles communications for Ananas Anam. “Piñatex is a durable textile and has passed ISO international standard tests for wear, including those for abrasion resistance, flexing endurance and tensile strength,” she adds.
Prices start at 25€ for a square metre, while products like Smith Matthias’ white sneakers start at 99€. Details: ananas-anam.com/ pinatex
Shroom save
You can’t get more bespoke than this: a bag made of mushroom skin grown to specific measurements. That’s the future that Grado Zero Innovation is working on. Their product, MuSkin, is made from Phellinus ellipsoideus (a fungus that grows on wood) and is comparable to suede, with a texture that ranges from “soft” to “cork-like hardness”. Price is an issue, though; MuSkin is more expensive than leather, but Gozzani tells us, “It is not meant to replace the mass production of animal leather. Its major purpose is to be a valid alternative to all the luxury animal leather obtained from animals not used in human nutrition, like reptiles, frogs, chinchilla and so on.” In Copenhagen, product designer Jonas Edvard experiments with sustainable design, and one of his innovations, MYX, is a material that consists of plant fibre and mushroom mycelium. “The mycelium grows together with the plant fibres, into a flexible, soft, living textile,” explains Edvard. His first product is a lamp made of MYX, but the possibilities are endless. Prices start at $5 a square foot. Details: mycoworks.com
