Fashion designers are branching out into plant-based textiles in response to the growing demand for sustainable and cruelty-free products, as supply chains seek to reduce carbon emissions. These skin substitutes heat up:
Cactus: Fast fashion company H&M is collaborating with Mexico-based company Desserto to create a new collection, including shoes made of cactus leather. Desserto makes aloe vera texture by turning the leaves of organic aloe vera into a partially biodegradable plant material that looks like skin. The fabric can be used to make bags, accessories, clothing, boxing gloves, furniture and car interior decoration.
Castor oil: H&M’s new collection will also feature EVO by Fulgar, a bioavailable ingredient made from castor oil. Volgar says that EVO is a completely renewable resource, doesn’t require a lot of water to grow, and doesn’t take any farmland out of food farming.
An apple: Once the juice is extracted from the apple, the remaining pulp is usually discarded. The Italian company Frumat SRL has developed a fabric made from pulp, which is then dried and ground into a powder, mixed with dyes and a binding agent, and left until it resembles leather. Designer Tommy Hilfiger used them to make sneakers in a zero-waste range.
mushrooms: Luxury brand Hermès is teaming up with MycoWorks, a California-based startup with a patent that turns strands of mushroom roots into materials that look like leather. The first byproduct of the collaboration will be a suitcase, expected at the end of 2021.
