With the growing awareness of the need for sustainable consumption, the vegan leather industry has accelerated its growth in recent years. According to a report published by the consulting firm Infinium Global Research, its turnover has already exceeded 40 billion euros and is expected to double by 2025.
More and more mid-range and high-end companies have renounced leather to offer other alternatives that are visually almost identical and, in theory, less polluting. But what is vegan leather and how is it made?
The most common way of manufacturing it is based on polymers: polyurethane and PVC. This is what is known as poly-leather and is, for the moment, the technique that achieves visual results and materials more similar to those of leather. The former has been gradually replacing the latter; the results are better, as it breathes more, is more ductile, cracks less and, above all, pollutes less.
Allbirds Invests in Mirum Material
Allbirds is a company that never stops innovating. After the huge success of its all-wool running shoes, eucalyptus fiber sneakers, recycled plastic laces, castor oil insoles and a new clothing line that includes odour-fighting fabric made from crab shells, earning heaps of praise from its customer base.
Plant-based leather is Allbirds' next big advancement. The company announced a $2 million investment in a materials innovation company called Natural Fiber Welding, and added its first 100% natural plant-derived leather product to its product line last year. This material Mirum is said to have 40 times less carbon impact than real leather and produces 17% less carbon than synthetic leather made from petroleum-based sources. Mirum is made from a combination of vegetable oil, natural rubber and other bio-based inputs.
Mirum’s technology produces 100% natural, plant-based alternative leather that doesn't rely on plastic. In order to continue its mission to eliminate petroleum from the fashion industry, Allbirds found new processes and materials that can be easily replicated and repeated, and NFW's solution is truly scalable.
With Mirum, the brand is responding to a century-long quest for a greener solution for leather that potentially has a more than 95% reduction in carbon emissions. This could have a huge impact on the fashion industry, and introducing Plant Leather to Allbirds' open-source natural materials suite, has huge potential to produce a knock-on effect for other brands. As a certified B Corp brand, Allbirds is dedicated to producing the most sustainable footwear possible.