Did
you know that:
1.
Every
year around a billion animals are allocated for leather accessories
production.
2. Most
of the skins are imported from China and India, where there are no Humane Slaughter Acts.
3. In
india, cows are forced to march for days with no end, without water,
they are beaten and pushed. Red and green chili peppers are being
inserted into the eyes of bulls that are loaded on trucks for
transport. The peppers are meant to sting the eyes so badly that they
are unable to lie down and rest.
4.
Supposedly,
sometimes cat and dog skin is mixed with other products on purpose.
5. In
order to prepare leather for manufacturing, it’s treated with
different kinds of extremely poisonous chemicals, including
formaldehydes, that pose threat to the natural environment.
6. 20
to 50 percent of dye-works workers have increased risk of cancer.
Leather
for clothing and accessories is most commonly skinned from animals,
such as cows, pigs, goats, sheep, alligators, snakes, kangaroos, cats
or dogs. However, there might be an alternative, more specifically - 'vegan leather'.
Piñatex™
is a material made out of pineapple leaves fibers. This material was
developed by Dr Carmen Hijosa after seven years of research in the
Philippines. Piñatex harnesses advanced technologies to create a
totally sustainable high performance natural textile.
Pineapple
fibers, required for the production of piñatex are waste byproducts of
pineapple harvest, no additional cultivation, water, fertilizer or
pesticides are required in order to obtain it.
This
could provide new, additional income for farmers, creating a whole
new industry in countries that grow pineapples.
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Piñatex™
is made from pineapple leaves. The fibres are extracted from the
leaves during decortication process, which is done at the
plantation by the farmers. Not only that, but the by-product of
decortication is bio-mass, which has further uses and can be turned
into organic fertilizer or bio-gas.
Farmers
could sell both, the extracted fibers and bio-mass for additional
revenue, strengthening the farming community. Extraction is
followed by an industrial process to obtain a nonwoven textile that
makes up the base for Piñatex™. Finally, the material itself is
produced at a textile company in Spain, where a unique
finishing process is applied before shipping.
Right
now this pineapple material is being tested in products by brands
such as Puma or Camper.
Yet
another alternative comes from MuSkin - 'leather' obtained from
mushroom caps, colored without chemical processing and 100%
biodegradable. This breathing, naturally water resistant material is
supposedly nicer to touch than suede. It’s made from the Phellinus
ellipsoideus, a big parasitic fungus that grows in subtropical forests
and feeds on their trees.
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MYX
is also worth mentioning - it’s a material obtained from mushroom
mycelium and plant fibre, it was invented by a Danish designer Jonas
Edvard. The mycelium grows over the fibre and molds it into a soft,
living textile. After two weeks of growing a healthy Oyster mushroom
can be harvested and the waste byproduct is dried and used as a
recyclable, sustainable, organic and lightweight material.
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Finally
there’s teather - leather made out of tea. Young-A Lee together
with a team of fashion designers created a prototype woven from
cellulose fibre. They made shoes and a vest out of byproducts of
kombucha tea brewing. All it took was a bacteria colony and yeast to
create a material that can be later harvested and dried.
Unfortunately this product is not yet perfect as it loses its
durability in moist environment and becomes brittle in low
temperatures. Researchers are still evaluating its usefulness.
Every
year designers are looking for new, interesting materials, more
natural and ecologic. Maybe those materials are not yet fit for mass
production, but they are a sign of good, more humane solutions.
What
do you think about those materials? Would you give pineapple shoes a
chance?
Sources:
Comments
If I found nice one - shoes, bag, etc, with good price (not highier than for regular leather), then why not? But I would read something more, probably opinions of customers, if it is good quality and will last for some time in good condition.
I think that this is a good alternative to animal skin. First is organic. We care about the environment. It is fully biodegradable. Clothing and other accessories look the same as the animal skin.
Would you give pineapple shoes a chance?
Yes, I would give chance pineapple shoes because it is normal shoes.
Is no different from ordinary shoes.
I think those Puma shoes look just as good as those made from regular materials.
I had no idea the situation with leather industry is so bad. What an idea to put chilli peppers into bull's eyes...
I was always wondering what they use to colour the leather, now I know it's formaldehyde. Despite it's being a poison in normal conditions, I wouldn't say, it's definately a bad thing. It's used as a disinfectant also, applied to chemical fibres and industrial resin manufacturing and added to food as a preservative (E240).
This Piñatex thing looks pretty nice, I love this pale yellow colour. I'd like to give it a try, so I hope the tests would be positive and mass production would start in nearest future. I only have mixed feeling about it's endurance, would it outlive natural leather or even equal it...? Secondly would it be so unrivalled and usefull for warm winter shoes as the leather is?
I have to admit I buy products from natural leather, that's because of their endurance, great comfort, beautiful and exclusive look. However, I'm aware of it's usage of poor animals, that's why I do have pangs of conscience, but there haven't been the good substitut yet. The bombastic "eco leather" has nothing to do, not only with leather, but also eco and it has really poor resistance.
I do have some really old leather wallet (it's some strange dark and pale brown leather, we don't have such in Europe) bought in Turkey or Egypt about 15 years ago and it's still the best one I have, it's not worn-out at all.
As for the MuSkin leather and teather - I'm not convinced. The second one isn't just some kind of paper..? MYX sounds like an interesting solution in my opinion. I'm looking forward for some news how it's going.
Of course that I would like to try those pineapple shoes, it sounds interesting.
This is why we can read about the idea of a vegan leather, which in my opinion, is just another step or drop in the ocean of off the grid ideas how to avoid animal cruelty and do not match fashion and self confidence by wearing something fancy with the death of innocent lives. I think that all kinds of ideas which come from a need (not a whim) are the best, so if some people became vegan to feel happier and be healthier and also there is an ideology behind such choice, then vegan leather can be as successful idea as the vegan diet.
I think that vegan leather can actually become an attractive alternative for many people, who do not want the animals to be a part of the fashion industry, which can have a positive influence on the whole situation.
Leather or Fur are a perfect example of the power of money. This primitive process of sourcing materials from being alive could be banned long time ago but too many people would loose Their earnings.
That's really good idea to promote alternative leather, as it is more known as much people will choose that.
I think that it’s really great that some companies try to substitute leather with other plant based leather like materials, but to be honest I’m afraid that won’t work very well.
Faux leather and fur are available on the market from decades ago, but some people just want to have REAL thing.
It’s for them some kind of social status booster, they can show how much money they have and that they live in luxury.
I guess I would wear the vegan leather goods, because it is good for health and makes no harm to animals.
I think the vegan leather would reach the same level of quality as regular one if the clothing industry was more interested in it. Sadly, as long as the consumer awarenes stays low and products like Pinatex are not in high demand, they have little interest in developing good alternatives to animal skin.