We at Komrads use apple leather to produce our APLS collection, but what is it actually?
Apple leather is a vegan alternative to animal leather and is made from apple skin and core waste. This waste is recovered from the food industry, more specifically the apple juice industry. The result is a cellulose-based fabric made of 55% apple waste, 40% synthetic resin and 5% PU, which we use to create our fabulous APLS.
The material is owned by an Italian company called Frumat. They received the Technology and Innovation Award in 2018 for their innovative textile technology. The actual production is offshored by Frumat to Mabel SRL who are located in Florence, Italy.
How is it actually made?
Like every (food)industry, apple juice is no different. It leaves waste after the production process. In this case the pulp and cores of the apples are left over. So, to turn this waste into apple leather, the waste is dried out and ground into powder. Afterwards the powder is mixed with pigments and binder. The apple mix is spread out on a canvas to further dry out, until it becomes a leathery sheet. Lastly it is combined with polyurethane (PU) to create the PETA-approved vegan leather.
Some environmental impacts:
- Less waste from food industry
- No animal cruelty
- No animals, so less greenhouse gasses and methane emissions
- Less Toxins for the tanning process