- Leap™ Makes Vegan Leather From Leftover Apples
- The material has a 100% plastic and petrochemical-free apple waste blend, and a protective finishing coating making Leap deconstructable.
- Designers:
- Leap™
- Materials:
- Food-waste, Vegan leather, Waste Materials
- Images via Leap™
Copenhagen-based Beyond Leather introduces Leap™, a plant-based leather alternative created from upcycled apple waste from the juice and cider industry. This leftover apple waste of the juice and cider industry is mixed with other bio-based ingredients like natural rubber. A textile backing is then attached ( currently made of organic cotton and Tencel), and a protective coating is also added.
The company was established in 2017 by Hanna Michaud and Mikael Eydt. Hanna Michaud, who studied Sustainable Fashion at KEA – the Copenhagen School of Design and Technology, developed the idea to make nature-friendly leather after finding the many ways in which the leather industry is adversely affecting the planet and animals. She got the idea to make leather from food waste in a course called Biomimicry in Material Driven Design and studied the apple waste in cider production, from both scientific and exploratory perspectives. She met co-founder and CEO, Mikael Eydt soon after she started to experiment with apple waste.
The material has three layers of organic textile backing, a 100% plastic and petrochemical-free apple waste blend, and a protective finishing coating making Leap deconstructable, and therefore more sustainable than most leather alternatives available today. The coating currently contains fossil fuel derivatives, but the company is working to make this bio-based.
Leap’s production uses energy-efficient processes and can be made in just one day using 99% less water, while also emitting 85% less CO2 than traditional leather production. The material produced does not use any animal products or harmful tanning substances.
“We believe that products should either be re-used or slip back into nature. We love a challenge and making the impossible possible keeps us going,” says Hannah Michaud, co-founder, and CCO.
Leap has 80% bio-based composition, but the company has clear plans to phase out any fossil fuel-derived ingredients and become completely bio-based in only a few years.
The company is developing its material further, intending to create a material that can replace leather not just in the fashion industry but everywhere where leather is used. Leap is currently working to make its material completely bio-based by 2024. They are going to debut in the fashion market and will be available on an industrial scale by 2022. Samples and prototyping sheets are currently available on their website.
Product Images
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