This year, everybody’s discussing plant-based leather, the animal-friendly alternative to lush leather clothing. In fact, according to a global marketing forecast, this sustainable textile market is expected to double in the next 3 years. They’re talking about a surge from £85,000 to £1.7 million, as this type of material has become the popular choice of notable designers like Adidas, Stella McCartney and BAM. And that’s perfectly understandable if one considers that real leather has the highest environmental impact of all materials used by the fashion industry, according to PETA.

Unlike animal leather, which has the highest environmental impact among all materials used in the fashion industry, most plant-based leather materials have a comparatively good sustainability index.

This should come as no surprise. The global fashion market is constantly reminded that there are environmentally friendly alternatives to any product that harms animals and the environment, like leather, wool, silk and various synthetic materials produced using harmful chemicals in the fabrics (we’re talking about nylon and polyester). Then there are textile dyes (such as chlorine bleach and formaldehyde, heavy metals, benzidine and other substances) that colour fabrics. These also harm the environment.

Why the Trend Towards Alternative Leather?

We’ve written about the move towards more sustainable and responsible business practices to halt the stream of fast fashion that has taken the world by storm. (View our informative blog on Sustainable Textile Dyeing and Textile Innovations and our take on Fast Fashion Clothing.)

Choosing vegetable leather is just another of these more sustainable practices that we advocate, to address eco-friendly alternatives that do not harm the environment or end up in landfills. This is the sustainable culture we are focusing on.

This escalating trend addresses the following:

1.     Stopping Animal Cruelty:

As its name implies, not one animal is harmed in producing this type of material made from plants. This tells us that the production method is ethical and humane.

2.     More Eco-Friendly Material:

Aside from animal welfare, leather production also involves various environmental issues like water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation. Leathers that are plant-based materials is the opposite: it’s manufactured from various sustainable, renewable materials, making it a green alternative.

3.     Hard-Wearing Alternatives:

Sure, real leather is durable, but so is leather material made from plants. It’s also easy to keep clean and long-lasting. Genuine leather can also be treated so that it is water-resistant.

4.     Inexpensive:

Leather items are more expensive than plant-based leather garments, as producers can use various plants to create this type of material. Leather made from plants looks and feels very similar to authenticleather textiles, and can be sustainably dyed into numerous colours.

5.     More Sustainable:

It goes without saying: Material manufactured from plants as an alternative to genuine leather is more environmentally friendly than harming or killing an animal for its pelt. Alternatives to leather made from plants is usually similar to leather in appearance and texture, and is just as hard-wearing, making them a viable, extremely ethical choice.

The Global Rise of Plant-Based Materials Including Leather

The term ‘vegan leather’ has been replaced worldwide with adjectives like ‘plant-based’ after Portugal banned it in 2022. This was to stop misleading customers and also to stop people purchasing these products, mushrooms, apple peels ( ‘pellemela’, produced by French shoe brand CAVAL) and even wine waste (retail giant H&M partnered with wine leather producers Vega in 2020 to create a range of shoes and handbag straps.)

One of the most sustainable alternatives to leather fabrics is made from pineapple leaf fibres (the pineapple leather produced is called Piñatex), which has become the chosen material for various global designers. Nike, Hug Boss, Paul Smith and H&M all use pineapple leather.

Other sustainable plant-based materials that are being used instead of leather include desserto, cactus leather produced from the fibres of cactus plants in Mexico. It is extremely hard-wearing and flexible, so it’s a great leather alternative. Most faux leather manufacturers now use sustainable production processes that involve water-based or non-solvent solutions.

Is Vegan Leather Good for the Environment?

Not all plant-based leather fabrics are created equal, and some are actually not sustainable. Synthetic leather can also be produced from plastic materials. Only biodegradable leather made from plants is environmentally friendly. The synthetic variations are processes that contribute to microplastic pollution. So, ensure that whatever alternative leather material you are using is plastic-free, and not synthetic.

Leather Alternatives in the UK

The good news is that more and more clothing manufacturers are embracing alternative leather materials and other sustainable alternatives for fashion garments in the UK. Wearing faux fur instead of genuine leather is de rigeuer and a personal choice. The Fashion Week runways are filled with vegan puffer jackets, fabulous fur throws and jackets, and gorgeous shoes and accessories created from plant-based leather.

British designer Stella McCartney refuses to use leather or fur in its collections. They have partnered with US-based material science company Natural Fiber Welding Inc. (NFW) to develop a plastic-free alternative to leather called MIRUM®.

“Our goal is for all our virgin natural fibres to be sourced using regenerative materials, backed by scientific measurements and data,” it says on their website. “We are not there yet, but we are on our way.”

Another British-based business is Beyond Skin, which prides itself on being a “cruelty-free vegan footwear company”. Founded in 2001, the company has focused on reducing its carbon footprint and producing ethical fashion that doesn’t compromise on style. Their shoes are all hand-crafted in Spain. 

London has a few companies worth talking about. For starters, there is LaBante, known for its exquisite vegan leather product range created from recycled plastic bottles in a sweatshop-free factory in Guangzhou, China. Another design house based in London is Will’s Vegan Shoes, which manufactures fashionable, affordable carbon-neutral shoes for men and women created from Italian and Spanish cereal crops. Notting Hill-based company Wilby calls itself ‘the premier sustainable and vegan accessories brand’. Every product is produced from organic, eco-friendly materials including organic cotton, recyclable material, eco-friendly backing and cork leather.

Global Companies Manufacturing Alternative Leather

Sustainable global brands producing alternatives to leather materials include:

1.     Gucci uses a leather alternative called “Eco-Vegetable Tanned Leather” to produce their bags and accessories. The design house focuses on sustainable sourcing and processing and innovates new solutions like this one. “We have set up projects in our own supply chain to help drive positive standards created by our parent company, Kering, which govern the sourcing and production of our leather,” the brand explains.

2.     Vivienne Westwood uses a leather alternative produced from vegetables called to manufacture handbags and accessories. According to their website, leather alternatives they accept include “partially or fully bio-based PU leather, or, for our footwear ranges, innovations such as bamboo and apple fibres.”

3.      Japanese shoe and accessory company Belle & Sofa, crafts designer shoes and handbags from alternatives to leather material.

4.     Danish company Leap believes it’s important to “Make Waste Beautiful”. Using apple waste from apple juice and apple cider production to replicate leather material, their idea was originally a university project. Today it’s a successful company called Beyond Leather Materials.

5.     Another Japanese company, Toray Industries, created a material called Ultrasuede® from 30% plant-based materials including sugarcane waste and castor oil. The company is currently focusing on producing a 100% plant-derived product. Brands using this stunning leather textile alternative include design house Issey Miyake.

6.     Adidas collaborated with biotech company Bolt Threads to produce Stan Smith sneakers made from mushroom leather, a replicate leather that is also used by British designer Stella McCartney. The shoe is manufactured from mushroom leather and its midsoles comprise natural rubber.

7.     Luxury French design house Hermès used a textile created by Californian startup MycoWorks to manufacture vegetable alternatives to leather material called Sylvania, produced out of threads made of mushroom roots. Their first product is a travel bag.

8.     American designer Tommy Hilfiger uses fabrics made from apple fruit pulp created by Italian company Frumat, SRL for a zero-waste collection.

9.     Popular sneaker design house Veja ‘goes beyond leather’ with a bio-based material made from organic cotton canvas that is “coated with PU, ricinus oil and corn starch’. This innovative designer was one of the first to use recycled polyester (rPET) to create an alternative to leather for their sneakers called ‘B-Mesh’. Their latest innovation is a plant-based leather for their CAMPO sneaker range, made out of corn waste that took the brand 5 years to develop. The material is made from “a waxed canvas with 50% corn waste leftover from the food industry,” the brand explains. These CAMPO sneakers are “up to 63% biodegradable”. The price is still high, but the sustainability is worth it!

Cork Leather & Cactus Leather Innovations

Chinese company HZCORK specialises in cork, a sustainable, renewable resource harvested from trees. One product it produces is a cork ‘leather material’, used to make a huge selection of fashion products such as handbags, shoes and other accessories in this replicated leather material.

British design house Vivienne Westwood continues “to explore alternative materials” such as cactus leather “to reduce the amount of leather we use overall.”

Leather Fabrics for Sustainable Fashion

Choosing leather alternatives is one great way to share your sustainability focus and show support against animal cruelty. As more and more clothing brands find means of manufacturing alternative leather fabrics using pelts from animals, join the throng who only wear plant-based, biodegradable and sustainable alternative leather material.

Avoid synthetic leather fabrics made from PVC, PU and polyester, which harm the environment, and are also not long-wearing. Be aware of how those synthetic materials impact the environment, our landfills and the climate.

Only wear garments made from organic materials that are the natural alternative to leather. Manufacturers are constantly innovating new ways to produce these fabrics from various plant-based products to avoid harming animals, including leather manufactured from apple skins to grape leather from grape skin and everything in between.