Editor’s Note
This article highlights a promising development in sustainable materials, comparing the decomposition rates of traditional synthetic leather with innovative alternatives made from fruit and straw. It underscores the ongoing research aimed at reducing environmental impact through biodegradable solutions.
A Breakthrough in Sustainable Materials
Polyurethane synthetic leather takes over 500 years to decompose. In contrast, leather made from fruit and straw takes only up to 50 years to break down.
The Research and Development
With environmental concerns becoming a mainstream issue, a large segment of the population is becoming conscious about their lifestyle choices—what to eat and wear to minimize environmental impact. Consequently, people are looking to the market with hopeful eyes for products made as naturally as possible and that do not cause significant distress to the Earth when discarded. The market faces the new challenge of becoming eco-friendly, leading to increased research in this field. Keeping this challenge in mind, a team of scientists from the Chennai-based Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) has, through four years of research, developed a leather made from natural materials. Hence, it has been named vegetarian leather or vegan leather. CLRI scientists claim that once this technology enters the market, consumers will find great relief. Its arrival will not only protect the environment but also make products made from it available to the general public at lower prices.
Interview with Lead Scientist P. Thanikaivelan
An interview with P. Thanikaivelan, the chief scientist leading the CLRI team working on this technology, by Anil Ashwini Sharma and Ritesh Ranjan.
“Due to strict environmental laws in Western countries, their governments and companies are moving away from things that harm the environment. Meanwhile, India is also striving to find alternatives to reduce dependence on such materials. In this sequence, we also began our study. To eliminate this dependence, the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) has started working on alternatives to synthetics using grass, straw, fruits, and flowers. India is rapidly making efforts to reduce dependence on synthetics.”
“Yes, absolutely. We have found an alternative to artificial leather. Our 20-person team at CLRI, including people from both scientific and technical disciplines, is engaged in this. This team has been working on this subject for the past four years. Our team started working on this plan in 2020 itself. This year (2023), we have discovered the technology to make vegan leather from mango pulp. On the other hand, work on the technology to make leather from wheat, rice, and sugarcane straw is almost complete, though it may take another year. Leather made from mango pulp could be in the market by the early months of 2024, and the product made from wheat, rice, and sugarcane straw vegan leather could reach the market by next year (2025).”
“Look, synthetic leather is made from petrochemicals, which are not easily biodegradable, meaning it takes a very long time to decompose. Polyurethane synthetic leather takes over 500 years to decompose. In contrast, leather made from fruit and straw takes only up to 50 years to decompose. Keeping this in mind, we began research on a technology that could reduce dependence on leather and synthetic leather. According to an estimate, the global synthetic leather market was USD 33.7 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.0% until 2030. This is a very frightening figure.”
“Actually, if you look at it, the world’s search for an alternative to synthetic leather happened due to the non-violence movement. The thinking behind the technology we discovered began ten years ago. We all know that synthetic products cannot easily blend into nature. Therefore, while working on finding its alternative, we have reached this point. While working on its alternative, the vegan leather that was prepared will sell for 300 to 500 rupees per square foot. Remember that vegan leather is biodegradable, so it easily blends into the environment. It is made from wheat, rice, and sugarcane fibers and mango pulp. Therefore, it easily dissolves and mixes in the atmosphere. It takes less time to blend into the environment compared to synthetic leather. The raw materials used to make synthetic leather involve toxic substances, which are less biodegradable. Additionally, the processing of synthetic leather uses a huge amount of water, and a lot of water is wasted. Whereas vegan leather uses less water and has zero discharge.”
“The full cost of this research was borne by the Mumbai-based company ‘Aamati’. After the research was completed, we transferred this technology to this company. Now the company is engaged in using this technology to create a leather-like product from mango pulp. The company will use this technology to make a leather-like product from mango pulp, and various types of products will be prepared from it. Meanwhile, research on leather-like products made from wheat, rice, and sugarcane straw is complete, and discussions are ongoing with various industrial units regarding the transfer of this technology. The price of vegan leather will be half that of leather and a quarter of synthetic leather, but when its production starts on a large scale, i.e., mass production begins, its price will be even lower.”
