Apple Leather: why it needs to be in your wardrobe
One of the new, innovative materials is vegan leather made from apples.
Often a waste product from the juice industry, apple leather is commonly crafted from peels, cores, pulp, and other leftovers from juicing or puree products.
The material is made by drying the apple waste and coating it onto a canvas. In some cases, polyurethane is involved, but in minor quantity than traditional 100% PU vegan leathers.
For example, prominent supplier Frumat's material is made from 50% apple waste and 50% polyurethane. This means that the material requires fewer fossil fuels than both animal leather and petroleum-derived faux leathers.
Most apple leather is made from apples from the Tyrol region in northern Italy, home to a large apple industry.
Italian company Frumat developed the bio-based plant leather made from waste from the region's enormous apple industry, which produces jams, juices and other apple-based products.
The material is now largely manufactured and supplied by Italian company Mabel Synthetics. It's used by companies such as Luxtra, Sylven, Mela and Minuit sur Terre, to name a few.