Raw Material 1| Turn Waste into Treasure

Only 1 per cent of clothing is recycled globally, while 73 per cent ends up in landfills before, but now that is changing. Advances in technology and growing consumer expectations are spurring green businesses and reducing pollution. The world’s second-largest polluter, the textile industry, is always looking for and innovating materials.

This summer, the r&d diversity and traceability of environmentally friendly raw materials are in focus, as is the growing range of ecologically responsible materials and processes. People gradually extend their use value from textile waste and agricultural waste. At present, in the recycling of agricultural waste, major enterprises, experts have a major breakthrough! Let’s take a look with us!

Pineapple fiber/banana fiber

It was recently reported that, a substance which derived from banana or pineapple produce waste, can be blended with bamboo lyocell into a recycled fiber. After finished with Pprmint™, further treated with antibacterial and deodorant, it can also spin into yarn for clothing! The yarn is flexible, moderate elasticity, 100% natural, that can reduce environmental pollution!

Woven from the fibers of pineapple and banana leaves, the Barong Tagalog garments are as strong as hemp and have excellent durability. The fabric is strong, but thin and cool, in keeping with the Philippine weather.

Plant leather

Toxic chemicals used in traditional leather production have adverse effects on health and the environment, involving about 20 stages and 250 chemicals (including toxins and heavy metals such as chromium hexachlorobenate, aldehydes, cyanide, zinc and lead). There is also large amounts of waste from the production process. The advent of bio-based leather solves these problems. Today we can make leather from plant waste such as apples, grapes, pineapples, corn, cactus and mushrooms. Bio-based leather significantly reduces carbon dioxide emissions compared to synthetic leather made from 100 percent fossil fuels.

Apple leather

One company created plant-based leather from the juice, pomace and peel of apples. Using 50% apple waste will be mixed with 50% PU and coated on cotton or polyester canvas. Finally, a protective coating is applied to form a three-layer structure to ensure its durability.

Apple leather was created to mitigate the environmental impact of animal leather and its plastic alternatives, creating a sustainable alternative to leather while reducing food waste.

Grape leather

Made from the skins, stems and seeds of grapes, this new product, 100% plant-based natural leather, is from Gianpiero Tessitore, a young architect in Milan, Italy, who is amazing the fashion and wine worlds.

In addition to being made from wine-making waste, grape leather has another advantage: it doesn’t use any water, acids or heavy metals. Truly achieve environmental protection green pollution-free.

Grape leather has already been made into bags, clothes and shoes, and will soon be used for furniture, clothing, handbags and other accessories.

Pineapple leather

When Carmen Hijosa, a leather expert with a PhD, visited the Philippines, she noticed that the fibrous structure of pineapple leaves can make a good leather substitute. “It’s very delicate, strong and flexible, ideal for a non-woven base.”

Hijosa then left traditional leather manufacturing and spent seven years studying textiles to develop Pinatex, a patented pineapple leaf fibre. Pinatex not only has excellent performance and wide application, but also is very cost-effective. Pinatex is around 23 euros per square meter, (animal leather is between 27 and 40 euros). Now this new sustainable material is being used by more and more brands!

Cactus

A startup from Mexico made eco-friendly leather with cactus: Desserto. It is flexible, breathable and can be customized to replace almost any animal skin.

Desserto can be used to make a variety of products, such as leather shoes, handbags, leather jackets, office chairs or car seats!

DESSERTOⓇ, winner of the 2020 Green Product Award and creator of highly sustainable plant-based leather, teamed up with CLAE, a brand from Los Angeles, to introduce the brand’s first sneaker made from cactus leather.

Mushroom waste

Mushroom leather is a leather imitation product, which made of mycelium produced by fungi attached to some plastic, grain residue, sawdust and other waste materials, and then through a series of special treatments.

HERMES has announced a collaboration with MycoWorks to release the mycelia-leather version of their Victoria, this material version called Sylvania.

Lululemon’s new mushroom collection includes a yoga mat and two Lululemon yoga bags: a mat holding bag and a bucket bag. The products will go on sale in early 2022.

Adidas’s first mushroom leather shoe Stan Smith Mylo.

Bio-based leather, can be used to make clothing, bags, shoes and hats, accessories, mobile furniture, car seats…… It is now used by more than 1,000 brands worldwide, including Hermes, Hugo Boss, H&M, Puma, Camper and Hilton Bankside Hotels.

For years, the “fashion world” has been criticized for not being environmentally friendly. Not only is the pollution behind the “fast fashion” industry, but the sustainability of product materials has become the top priority for customers. Some environmentally friendly products such as Marine garbage recycling, recycled plastics and recycled cotton are strongly supported by environmentalist consumers.

Therefore, it has become an irresistible trend to seek alternative raw materials in production and manufacturing and realize ecological transformation. In recent years, many luxury brand products have added environmental elements. Although because there are many problems such as technology, material cost and others of new materials, they are not fully adopted. The performance of the material also needs to be further optimized and improved, we believe that in the future, fashion industry will achieve full environmental production due to the continuous progress of science and technology!