New Kinds of Leather: The Most Prominent Lab-Grown Materials that Need No Animals
Humans have been crafting leather for as long as 7000 years. Some things have changed since then. In the beginning, leather tanning was made by soaking putrefying hides in urine and lime. These were used to loosen any remaining flesh and hair. After that, dog feces were added to those skins to soften and preserve them.
These natural, but quite disgusting elements, are things of the past. Nowadays, leather is treated with chemicals such as chromium - a heavy metal that can cause several diseases and is linked to water, soil and air pollution. The consequences of using these caustic substances have been extensively reported: from Brazil to China and India, passing through New York. The process may have changed but getting inside a leather tanning facility remains an unpleasant deal.
On top of that, there is something a little bit dirtier in this business worth $100bn a year: cattle production results in great amounts of greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation, making the mission to produce leather in an environmentally friendly way almost impossible. Alongside pollution and climate crises, the relationship between human beings and and animals is changing. Veganism is on the rise and putting animal skins on top of our bodies is getting a little bit old fashioned.
Just like meat, animal leather is heading to technological disruption. Bio-fabricated leathers rely on yeast cells that are fermented in a similar way to beer to create collagen. This protein is responsible for giving the skin its strength and elasticity - and that is why lab-grown leather is pretty different from alternative materials made with polymers. Once the collagen is purified, it can be assembled into unique material structures that can be adapted in various ways depending on its purpose.
Mylo™
Mylo by Bolt Threads
Taking nature as inspiration, Bolt Threads is involved in business of lab-grown materials. In 2018, they launched their first product made with Mylo. Using mycelium, a durable root structure of fungi such as mushrooms, Bolt came up with their animal-free leather. Via a Kickstarter campaign, they sold more than 260 items and raised $72,285. As the company begins to scale up, the cost for subsequent mycelium-based products will likely drop.
“Mylo is created by combining mycelium cells with a substrate of corn stalks and nutrients. Over 10 days the cells grow into the substrate, creating an interconnected mass that can be made into almost any size. The result is a material that looks and feels remarkably like animal leather. Yet Mylo can be produced in days versus years, without the material waste of using animal hides or the toxic chemicals used in producing synthetic leathers”
In 2018, they partnered with luxury designer Stella McCartney and Mylo hit the catwalks. McCartney, a designer that is constantly looking for more eco and animal-friendly alternatives, made her iconic Fallabela bag using the material.
Reishi™
Reishi samples that were treated with different tanning and techniques.
Reishi™ Fine Mycelium™
Reishi™ Fine Mycelium™
Phil Ross already in the '90s dreamed of cultivating living materials as a medium for art and design. His first works included building blocks, sculptures and furniture that proved the versatility of the material used primarily: mycelium. The renowned artist who exhibited at the Venice Biennale of Architecture and MoMA spent 20 years developing the biomaterial.
Nowadays, the artist is the head of the biotechnology company Mycoworks. With his pioneering vision for sustainable materials, Phil works with CEO Matt Scullin and his team of artists, engineers, biologists and material scientists. At the NY Fashion Week 2020, they launched the “Fine Mycelium” material called Reishi™. Which is a biodegradable fungus-based material that has almost the same characteristics as leather.
“People, for a long time, have grown something called mushroom leather. It’s compressed down into something more like expanded PVC or yoga mat material and it’s very weak. What we do is, while our material is growing, we coerce the mycelium cells into a woven structure. This gives it much more strength and durability. After we harvest, we can then go into tanning.”
Reishi™ Fine Mycelium™
Reishi™ Fine Mycelium™
Reishi™ Fine Mycelium™
Biotechnology companies like Bold Threads and Mycoworks highlight the fact that lab-grown materials do not produce waste. Animal hides come in irregular shapes, frequently they are marked or have scars and insect bites, which can mean that 20 to 30 animal skins regularly go to waste. That does not happen with biofabrication.
Blind spots
However, there are still some gaps that must be filled in. Recently, scientists discovered that lab-grown meat (which hasn't hit the market yet) can be very intensive in GEE emissions in the long term. As the process for biofabricated leather is similar, further data is needed to guarantee sustainability in the present and future, especially as the production rises.
There is also a tradition to deal with: leather making is an ancient practice and there are still plenty of fans devoted to keeping the tradition alive. Last but not least, hitting the high streets, with volume and price, is another huge challenge for biofabricated materials. While The Business Of Fashion report, The State Of Fashion 2020, highlights the “material revolution” with more and more brands trying to dip their toes into this business, the reality is that there are lots of good ideas that need to prove market viability and acceptance.
Let's see what future - and science - is preparing for us. If writer Yuval Noah Harari is right, these challenges will be so last season sooner than we can imagine.
INFO
Words:
Marina Colerato
After 10 years in and out of the fashion industry, in 2014 Marina founded Modefica, an independent media debating sustainability. She is the co-founder of Futuramoda, a transformation agency that operates through education, design and communication. At Modefica, she is responsible for editorial content and partnership development. At Futuramoda, she works with strategic communication for sustainability. Marina also coordinates Buen Vivir Book Club, a reading club that brings together books and people to debate about post-capitalism and ecology from a Latin American perspective.
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