A young couple from Guadalajara, Mexico, created the first vegetable alternative to the skin made from prickly pear leaves presented at Lineapelle, a Milanese event held last year.
Adrián López and Marte Cazárez have carried out experiments for two years to succeed in creating an alternative to the skin that is eco-friendly and ethical and which at the same time guarantees resistance and breathability.
To find the suitable material, the two young people were inspired by similar realities that create alternatives to leather starting from apple peels and pineapples
The idea of exploiting the prickly pear came almost by chance: the two were reflecting on how this plant was widely used in cosmetics for the production of shampoos and creams when they said to themselves " If the prickly pear is good for skin, why not use it to create a skin ? ".
Furthermore, the prickly pear is widespread in Mexico, as one of the two creators of the new fabric explains:
“Mexico has the potential to innovate and the cactus is the symbol of the country. Many people told us we were crazy! Even our engineers told us it couldn't be done. Did we say no? We are in Mexico, we are Mexicans, which raw material abounds here? The cactus here grows on its own, without the need for large quantities of water. This is where we started testing the prickly pear and, after several tests, we were able to make a resistant material, "explained Adrián.
After several failures, the two young Mexicans managed to produce a material similar to leather in texture and texture, inexpensive and above all vegan friendly. Now their fabric is ready to replace animal skin and synthetic imitation leather to make numerous objects.
“A dress, a bag, a belt, a watch strap, a small bookcase, an armchair. Any skin can be replaced by this fabric; animal or synthetic leather can be replaced by vegetable, supporting the ecosystem, "said Marte Cazárez.
The new plant-based alternative to leather, which is priced at around $ 25 a meter, could, therefore, replace animal and synthetic ones.
In addition to responding to the demand of consumers who do not intend to buy objects made with animal skin, the use of the new plant fabric would also bring benefits to local producers who grow prickly pears.
Here are some examples of products made with vegetable leather, aren't they beautiful?
Given the numerous advantages of this innovative fabric, we hope that this solution will be adopted soon by companies that today work with leather or that produce leather objects.