Is vegan leather going to change real leather ?

Presenting leather from grape and pineapple

It is said that an apple a day keeps a doctor away. We don’t know if there is some saying about grapes or pineapples but get ready not only to eat your fruit but wear it too. Recently we talked about faux leather and why to choose it in your garments and accessories rather than real leather. Since faux leather is quite a new and often emerging phenomenon, we feel that we should discuss it more and this way educate our readers. Or maybe you have something useful to share with us? 

From Pineapple to Piñatex

Maybe it is no coincidence that SpongeBob SquarePants lived in pineapple as it seems to be a “practical” fruit. But all jokes aside, an idea to use fibres from pineapple leaves got us to use sustainably produced garments. Now, this material could be also called Piñatex. It was developed by Dr Carmen Hijosa and now made by Ananas Anam. Why this fake leather is so special you might ask? It is fascinating to see how consciously this material was made having only agricultural waste and how it was turned into a sustainable and biodegradable product. Did you know that Hugo Boss was one of the first brands that used this material for their shoes?

 From Wine to Vegea

Having material made from grapes already sounds curious, but hearing that it is obtained from wine, really reminds us of the whole water-to-wine wonder. But this became possible for Vegea – a company that produces biomaterials for various industries, including fashion. It is done by cooperating with other sectors and trying to find ways how to manage their work and recourses in the most sustainably possible way. Their cooperation with wineries led to creating faux leather from grape waste. Everything that is left from grapes after the production of wine: skins, seeds, and stalks later go through a process after which it becomes fake leather material. Sounds too good to be true? Check H&M that is already using this material to create shoes and handbags.

And don’t forget to let us know which one of these fruit-based materials you would like to try first!