Eco-friendly leather producer ISA TanTec has launched a division specialising in the development of new sustainable products – including materials based on mushroom, mycelium and other plant based sources.
The first two materials to launch under the COSM (Creation of Sustainable Materials) division are HyphaLite and VeraLite, which will be available in the first half of next year.
Mushrooms unsuitable for human consumption are used for the production, the company says, adding: “Following the principle of the circular economy, waste which occurs during the production of the materials, included but not limited to cutting waste, will be integrated back into the process.”
All COSM products are made by following ISA TanTec’s LITE manufacturing processes minimising carbon footprint, water and chemical consumption.
“For more than two years, we have been investigating and researching with scientists to build these new sustainable materials along with our unique ISA leathers,” says Thomas Schneider, executive chairman of the ISA TanTec Group.
“Mushrooms are an amazing, fast renewable natural organism. Due to their rapid growth, feedstock availability is almost unlimited,” adds Dr Reiner Hengstmann, vice president, Additional Materials.
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By GlobalDataISA TanTec operates leather tanneries in the US, Vietnam, China and Italy, with innovations including leather cutting, leather trims and leather laces for the footwear, luxury and apparel markets.
Biotechnology company Bolt Threads has also developed a new bio-engineered leather called Mylo, which is made from infinitely renewable mycelium and is being trialled by brands including Adidas, Kering, Lululemon and Stella McCartney.
