Pineapple, Cactus and Mushroom: Discover New Generation of Leather Alternatives

With the great wave of collective consciousness that has hit our society due to pandemic times, the boom in sustainable alternatives has become inevitable and the fashion industry could not be left out of this global movement.

Almost 100 years ago, a designer named Irving Schott created the first leather jacket in New York City. The model is the one you know, the one entitled Perfecto, which is very common in groups of motorcyclists. The base of the raw material was horse leather, a resistant material that has gained notoriety over time. Today, with sustainability practices increasingly on the rise, brands have had to reinvent themselves and look for synthetic options such as polyurethane (PU) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Despite reducing the impacts on the environment, these alternatives are not biodegradable.

But the new generation demands more sustainable alternatives. From fruit-derived leathers to laboratory-grown fibers, there have never been so many options for transforming raw materials in such a responsible way. Making waste a usable asset was the starting point for turning even food scraps into fashion raw materials. Among the characteristics of leather are resistance and softness, both present in fibers such as mango, soy, coconut, and apple. Among the brands championing these innovative materials are Piñatex, Desserto, and Vegea , which work with pineapple fibers, cacti, and mushrooms, respectively.

Among so many options, the one that has been gaining more space—and love—is that of mushrooms. This year Hermès announced the mushroom-based statement bag. Other brands like Stella McCartney and Adidas are also studying new possibilities to create pieces based on the mushroom (fungus).

Allbirds has a technology that combines bio-ingredients such as vegetable oil and natural rubber to create a 100 percent natural "leather" material based on plants.

Deadwood manufactures leather goods from recycled materials from textile waste and mainly from furniture manufacturers.

Von Holzhausen is the handbag brand that developed Technik-Leather, a material that mimics the flexible quality of animal leather but with less impact on the planet. The microfiber is developed from recycled plastic water bottles that mimics the flexible quality of animal leather. The label is already studying new paths such as Banbü, a fiber from the patented vegetable kingdom made from bamboo.

It may not be the magic solution to all of our problems, but disruptive measures like these in the industry tend to increasingly reduce the impacts on the environment.