THIS SUSTAINABLE ‘LEATHER’ COMES FROM KOMBUCHA TEA

The gel-like film, grown by a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY), feeds on a mixture of vinegar and sugar.

Young-A Lee, an associate professor of apparel, merchandising, and design at Iowa State University, says the properties of this SCOBY film are similar to leather once it’s harvested and dried, and can be used to make clothing, shoes, or handbags.

In a chapter of the book Sustainable Fibers for Fashion Industry (Springer Singapore, 2016), Lee reports the results of her case study on cellulose-based fibre. The material has been tested for other applications, such as cosmetics, foods, and biomedical tissue for wound dressing, but it is relatively new to the apparel industry.

The fact that the fibre is 100 percent biodegradable is a significant benefit for the fashion industry, which by its very nature generates a lot of waste, Lee says.

Learn more about kombucha leather here.   

"I read that 50 percent of plastic is used once and then thrown away so I feel there is an urgent need to find ways to replace some of the unreal amount of plastic we make, use and throw away each day. Why are we using materials that take hundreds of years to break down in nature to drink from once and then throw away?"

Designer Ari Johnson was inspired by learning about the amount of plastic made daily to develop a plastic alternative using a renewable resource: algae!

Read more about Johnson's bioplastic work here. 

LEGO, the well-known construction toy company, has made a commitment to reducing plastic in its products and packaging by driving innovation:

"Work will continue on the company’s Sustainable Materials Programme, which employs more than 150 experts, to create sustainable products and packaging. In 2015, the Group set a target to make its products from sustainable materials by 2030. It will expand its use of bio-bricks, such as those made from sugar cane, which currently account for almost 2% of its element portfolio.

It will continue research into new, more sustainable plastics from renewable and recycled sources, and join forces with research institutes and other companies especially those developing new recycling and bio-based material production technologies to find materials that are as durable and high quality as those used today(2)."

Learn more about Legos's exploration of sustainable materials here.  

Using mushrooms and their root systems as raw material for packaging is an innovative approach to reducing our dependency on plastics. Watch the TED talk by Ecovative Design co-founder Eben Bayer to learn more about this approach. 

See examples of mushroom-based packaging here.

Tomorrow Machine is a Swedish design studio based in Stockholm & Paris, specialising in packaging, product and food concepts. 

One of their projects, titled "This Too Shall Pass" is a series of sustainable packaging materials designed to last as long as their contents. Their oil package (pictured above) is made with carmelised sugar and is made to crack like an egg. 

To learn more about Tomorrow Machine's sustainable packaging visit their website here.