As people gradually realize that the impact of high-concentration wastewater, waste gas and other harmful substances produced in the traditional leather production process on humans and the environment will take more than ten years or even longer to treat, the industry People are committed to improving environmental protection technology, and at the same time, consumer perceptions have also undergone a shift. According to a survey conducted by a market research company, nearly one-third of European and American respondents said that they do not think leather fabrics are suitable as raw materials for clothing. Driven by environmental protection demands and consumer concepts, the bio-based leather market is rapidly rising overseas.
At present, the existing bio-based leather raw materials include grape skins, grape stems and grape seed waste from the red wine industry, waste pineapple leaf fiber, apples, fungi, castor bean oil, waste olive pomace, Cactus, elephant ear leaves, etc. Compared with real leather and artificial leather, these bio-based leathers not only have the characteristics of low carbon and environmental protection, but also have the advantages of long service life and good air permeability.
Recently, Arda Biomaterials has successfully developed a bio-based leather called "New Grain" using barley waste from the beer industry, and has obtained financing of 1.1 million pounds. The new material could be widely used in fashion, homeware and car manufacturing, and achieve net-zero emissions throughout its entire life cycle.
Although as early as 2019, people in the industry said that bio-based leather is expected to replace genuine leather or artificial leather products, there are still very few bio-based leather companies capable of large-scale production. The high cost and long time-consuming caused by small industrial scale and immature technology are still two important factors restricting the development of bio-based leather. Sustainability while improving product performance and quality to promote the development and application of the bio-based leather industry.
