Researchers Are Looking For Sustainable Leather Substitutes

Leather is a popular material used in making clothes and other goods industry. The use of leather is considered to be legal. However, the tanning process and dependency on livestock is found to pose a huge problem for the environment as the carbon footprint is found to be rising. Majority of the manufacturers and consumers are thus looking for an alternative source to reduce the environmental footprint. A study published in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) suggests sustainable materials to give traditional leather a run for its money.There is no doubt that the traditional leathergoods are more durable, flexible, and has an attractive finish.

Moreover, the use of chemicals during the tanning process coupled with generation of high amounts of wastewater also makes the use of traditional leather questionable. Majority of the hides are obtained from dairy and meat industries, thereby causing sustainability issues. The vegan leathersare leather-like materials that defy the perception surrounding synthetic pleather. This leather is made using mushrooms,plants, and even fish skin. The use of plant materials to make leather is gaining a lot of popularity among the manufacturers and consumers owing to its easy production and cost-effectiveness.

The straightforward manufacturing process makes the plant-based materials advanced leather in this modern world. Furthermore, the low cost natural fibers and polymers are together rolled into sheets as well. Similarly, a Mexican company has developed a leather made using prickly pear cactus, which is crushed into a powder form and further mixed with biobased polyurethane. This mushroom leather is similar in texture to the cowhide leather. However, the researchers are currently working on scaling up the production in order to make the product commercial. Even though this may not be a vegan substitute, fish skin is guaranteed to substitute exotic leathers includingalligatorand snake skin. Similarly, the cell-culture leather is also in its initial stages. Thus, there are viable alternatives for traditional leather.