The beauty of Apple Eco Leather: Stunning eco-friendly Vegan leather

August 20, 2018 1 Comment

There is often a misconception that faux leather or vegan leather are all nasty toxic plastic materials, when in fact there are more and more environmentally friendly options available every day.  Today I want to talk about Apple Eco Leather, one of the newer materials on the market. Apple Eco leather is produced using waste from the Apple Juice Industry, creating durable leather like materials that are perfect for shoes and handbags. I personally use an Apple Eco Leather bag most days and have been very impressed with its ability to cope with the worst of Irish weather and still look smart and beautiful.

 

A tale of persistence and a pasta machine…. 

The story begins in 2004 with Alberto Volcan who was looking for ways to use the industrial waste from the Fruit Juice and Compete Industry in northern Italy. His early prototypes included Apple paper, but it wasn’t until he joined Frumat, a start-up company specializing in the recycling of industrial biological waste, that they were able to successfully commercialise his inventions.  During his time with Frumat, Alberto continued to look for additional uses for apple waste. One of these projects was vegetable glue, which in it self was not successful, but Alberto did not give up. He reworked the glue into an apple paste that he then put through a pasta machine to stretch and cut the material and Pellemela, or Apple Eco leather was created!  The material is ecological, breathable, waterproof, durable and of course Vegan. The first commercailly available products were launched in 2015.

Fast forward a couple of years and we now have multiple brands who are using this innovative material to produce beautiful ecofriendly handbags and shoes. Check out this stunning range of Apple Eco Leather Italan handbags by R&New available here

 

If you would like to learn more about this amazing material have a look at this TEDX speech that Hannes Parth, the CEO of Frumat gave. Just make sure to click on the subtitles (the CC icon) to follow along in English. 

Share:

1 Response

Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.

Name *

Email *

Comment *

---

Also in NEWS and INSIGHT