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Biophilica Pilot

Biophilica Pilot

This pilot aimed to test, refine, and scale Treekind®, an alternative to animal and synthetic leathers made from green waste. The project focused on assessing the material’s performance, scalability, and manufacturing capabilities, aiming to produce 500 sqm of Treekind® for product applications.

Problem Statement

Leather production can have varying environmental impacts depending on the practices and standards employed. While some traditional leather is produced using responsible and sustainable methods, there are also growing concerns around its environmental footprint. While there are multiple “vegan” leather alternatives available on the market, many of them contain synthetic materials, have worse performance metrics than conventional leather, or are not available at scale.¹ These partly plastic materials cannot be recycled and fewer still are compostable

There are lots of opportunities for innovation in leather alternatives: Biophilica offers Treekind®, a compostable, sustainable leather alternative made from green waste, which can be recycled and avoids petroleum-based polymers.

¹Pulse of the Fashion Industry Report, 2017 by Global Fashion Agenda & The Boston Consulting Group.

Executive Summary

The Biophilica Pilot was launched by Fashion for Good in collaboration with Bestseller, PVH Corp., adidas, and Inditex. The pilot explored the potential of Treekind®, a sustainable, compostable leather alternative. It successfully moved from manual production to a semi-continuous demo line. The project delivered promising results, including prototype products like boots and handbags, and positive performance testing. The goal was to validate Treekind® as a viable, eco-friendly leather alternative, focusing on manufacturability, consistency, and scaling production for commercial applications.

Alongside testing the technical performance of the material, the project aimed at validating the environmental impact and end of use pathways. Biophilica were able to achieve USDA certification on their material and also conducted a 3rd party LCA assessment using two different backing materials, tencel and cotton. Alongside this they tested their material for home composting, meeting the requirements of the ISO 14855-1 standard.

Goals of the Project

  • Test, refine, and scale the production of Treekind® leather material.

  • Evaluate material performance, consistency, and manufacturability.

  • Create prototypes for product and prototype applications.

  • Scale production to 500 sqm, with 200 sqm dedicated to commercial applications.

  • Validate environmental impact of the material.

Stakeholders Involved

Relevant Resources

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