Vegan Faux Leather

*Featured in the Summer 2020 edition of Canadian Vegan magazine

The vegan lifestyle[1] improves environmental sustainability [2], human health[3], and animal rights[4]. Vegan textiles achieve these ends by directly mitigating pollution and by indirectly displacing animal textiles[5] that are apart of the same animal industry that produces meat. The pollution of animal leather[9] from toxic chromium tanning [10-14] and other unsustainable practices like discarding 10-40% of hides for blemishes [15] define profound sustainable challenges for the leather industry [16]. The embodied greenhouse gas emission [11-12] of a single pair of leather shoes is equivalent to ~1 kg of meat [2], while the leather industry[17], which produces the equivalent of ~700 million jackets annually[11,18,19], manifests in the CO2-eq emissions of some entire countries[20].

Vegan textiles are emerging in every type of apparel. Notable vegan textile leaders like Stella McCartney [21] and Brave Gentlemen[22] are inspiring traditional clothing companies to adopt vegan options[23-24]. Vegan synthetic leather [25] is primarily composed of polyurethane[26] and polyvinyl chloride (PVC)[27]. Vegan leather can alternatively be sourced from biodegradable natural materials like bacterial cellulose[28-30], fungi, and plant fibers, which are sampled in Table 1. Kombucha SCOBY is being explored by industry leaders like Suzanna Lee[31-32] of Biofabricate [33] for clothing material. Banana fibers[34] and orange rines[35] have specifically developed faux silk, whereas corn fibers are processed into bedding [36].

Vegan textiles will expand to supply the growing vegan population, such as car interiors[37]. The expanding demographic of vegans and animal-rights activists, especially after the zoonotic COVID-19 pandemic, will choose vegan alternatives for leathers, wools, and silks toward the vegan mission of sustainability, health, and animal rights.

Table 1: A collection of vegan leather companies, their main product, and their material resource. The citation contains their website information.

Company Product [reference] Material
Vegan Leather Outwear Jackets, belts, shoes, and bags Polyurethane
Pañate Jackets [38], shoes, watch straps [39] Plants; pineapple leaves
Gunas Bags Plants; mulberry leaves
Nuvi Nomad Bags Plants; teak leaves
Nat-2 Shoes Plants; paper, hemp, PET
Vegea Car interiors [40-41] Plants; grape marc
Fruitleather Shoes, bags Plants; mango fibers
La Qara Bags Plants; Peruvian fruits
Soya Couture Shoes Plants; tofu waste
Veggani Bags Plants + plastics
Veerah Shoes Plants & Recycled plastic
Made from Malai Handbags Fungi
Zvnder Wallets, hats Fungi
Ecovative design Furniture [42], packaging [43], foam Fungi
Reishi Raw material Fungi
Kombucha Couture Fashion clothing Fungi; Kombucha SCOBYs
Bolt Threads Bags Fungi
Matt & Nat Bags, belts, jackets Recycled synthetic
T.U.K. Shoes Synthetic
Von D. Shoes Shoes Synthetic
Native Shoes Synthetic

References

  1. Fox, K. Here's Why You Should Turn Your Business Vegan In 2018. Forbes 3 (2017). citation
  2. Poore, J. & Nemecek, T. Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science (80-. ). 360, 987-992 (2018). citation
  3. Springmann, M., Godfray, H. C. J., Rayner, M. & Scarborough, P. Analysis and valuation of the health and climate change cobenefits of dietary change. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 113, 4146-4151 (2016). citation
  4. PETA. Living. PETA https://www.peta.org/living/ citation.
  5. Philosophy. Icebreaker https://www.icebreaker.com/en-ca/our-story/philosophy.html. citation
  6. Industrial Livestock. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy https://www.iatp.org/industrial-livestock.
  7. America's obsession with beef is killing the leather industry. https://www.supplychainbrain.com/articles/30104-americas-obsession-with-beef-is-killing-the-leather-industry (2019).
  8. What's wrong with wearing leather? Aren't the cows going to be slaughtered for meat anyway? People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals https://www.peta.org/about-peta/faq/whats-wrong-with-wearing-leather-arent-the-cows-going-to- be-slaughtered-for-meat-anyway.
  9. Farenzena, M., Ferreira, L. D. S., Trierweiler, J. O. & De Aquim, P. M. Tanneries: From waste to sustainability. Brazilian Arch. Biol. Technol. An Int. J. 48, 281-289 (2005). citation
  10. Ludvik, J. United Nations Industrial Development Organization. United Nations Ind. Dev. Organ. 435-441 (2000) doi:10.1201/b11064-37. citation
  11. Notarnicola, B. et al. Life cycle assessment of Italian and Spanish bovine leather production systems. Afinidad 68, 167-180 (2011).
  12. Joseph, K. & Nithya, N. Material flows in the life cycle of leather. J. Clean. Prod. 17, 676-682 (2009).
  13. Edwards, S. The environmental impacts of leather. Tortoise and Lady Grey https://www.tortoiseandladygrey.com/2016/05/02/environmental-impacts-leather-fashion/ (2016).
  14. Constantinescu, R. R., Deselnicu, V., Crudu, M. & Macovescu, G. Evaluation of leather biodegradability. in ICAMS 2014 � 5th Internaitonal Conference on Advanced MAterials and Systems 409-414 (2014).
  15. How leather is made. Spinneybeck https://www.spinneybeck.com/index.php?/about-how-leather-is-made. citation
  16. United Nations Industrial Development Organization. Future Trends in the World Leather and Leather Products Industry and Trade. United Nations Industrial Development Organization (2010) doi:10.1016/j.coastaleng.2008.02.027. citation
  17. Statistics and Sources of Information. Internaitonal Council of Tanners https://leathercouncil.org/information/statistics-sources-of-information/. citation
  18. Leather Jacket � Sweing pattern #4296. Lekala https://www.lekala.co/catalog/jackets/pattern/4296. citation
  19. How many hides to make a jacket? Fedora Lounge https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/how-many-hides-to-make-a-jacket.85267/ (2016).
  20. Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions (kt of CO2 equivalent). The World Bank https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.KT?view=chart. citation
  21. Sustainability: Materials and innovation. Stella McCartney https://www.stellamccartney.com/experience/en/sustainability/themes/materials-and-innovation/. citation
  22. About Brave Gentleman. Brave Gentleman https://www.bravegentleman.com/about. citation
  23. �Vegan�. Dr. Martens https://www.drmartens.com/us/en/unisex/vegan-footwear-and-accessories/c/04060000. citation
  24. Petter, O. Every fashion brand that has banned fur: from Chanel to Burberry. Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/fashion-brands-fur-ban-list-chanel-burberry-animal-cruelty-peta-victoria-beckham-a8780436.html (2019).
  25. Synthetic Leather Market Worth $40.9 Billion By 2027 | CAGR: 4.4%. Grand View Research https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-synthetic-leather-market (2020). citation
  26. Nelson, D. What Is PU (Polyurethane) Leather Vs Real Leather. Science Trends https://sciencetrends.com/what-is-pu-polyurethane-leather-vs-real-leather/ (2018). citation
  27. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Market Size, Share & Trend Analysis Report By Application (Construction, Consumer, Packaging, Electrical & Electronics, Transportation), By Region and Segment Forecasts 2012- 2020. Grand View Research https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/polyvinyl-chloride-pvc-market (2017). citation
  28. ��ber uns�. Scoby Tec http://scobytec.com/�ber-uns. citation
  29. About Malai. Malai https://malai.eco/about/.
  30. Solatorio, N. & Liao, C. C. Synthesis of cellulose by Acetobacter xylinum: A comparison vegan leather to animal and and imitation leather. (University of Wyoming, 2019). doi:10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004.
  31. Lee, S. Grow Your Own Clothes. https://www.ted.com/talks/suzanne_lee_grow_your_own_clothes/transcript?language=en (2011). citation
  32. McEachran, R. Would you wear a wedding dress made from fungus? The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-fashion-blog/2015/feb/17/grow-compost-wedding-dress-homegrown-fashion (2015).
  33. �About�. BIOFABRICATE https://www.biofabricate.co/about. citation
  34. Abaca banana fabric: a new ecologically conscious fabric. https://samatoa.lotus-flower-fabric.com/eco-textile-mill/abaca-banana-fabric/?v=7516fd43adaa. citation
  35. Orange fiber: sustainable fabrics from citrus juice by-products. Orange Fiber http://orangefiber.it/en/. citation
  36. Ingeo: Change the world one comforter at a time. Standard Fiber https://standardfiber.com/ingeo/. citation
  37. After Years of PETA Pushing, Vegan Car Interiors Are at Peak Popularity. https://www.peta.org/living/humane-home/vegan-car-interior-options/.
  38. �About us�. Pi�atex https://www.ananas-anam.com/about-us/.
  39. Altiir. Altiir: Made in Italy https://www.altiir.com/about.
  40. Votch. Ethical Superstore https://www.votch.co.uk/search?q=pinate&type=product&submit=Search.
  41. �About Us�. Nae Vegan Shoes https://www.nae-vegan.com/en/brand/about-us_589.html.
  42. Materials and Manufacturing. Gunas: New York https://www.gunasthebrand.com/pages/manufacturing-materials.
  43. Teak Leaf Leather. Nuvi Nomad https://www.nuvi-nomad.com/releaf/.