Just in time for apple cider season, Covestro and Beyond Leather Materials have partnered to develop Leap, a bio-based leather alternative made from apple waste.
The biomaterials used to manufacture Leap are sourced from apple juice and cider manufacturing waste. Around four million tons of apple waste is produced every year, according to Beyond Leather Materials.
“Apple waste contains a high content of short fibers and polymers, which can be activated to give a strength and suppleness to the final material, recreating the functional and aesthetic properties of leather,” Automotive Interiors World reports. “The-waste blend is applied to a Tencel textile backing and finished with the protective coating containing Insqin (polyurethane) to make Leap.”
Leap is 85% bio-based, making it a more sustainable option for automakers that currently use plastic- and vinyl-based materials.
“With around 25% of an apple discarded after pressing, we wanted to capture this waste’s value in premium applications. We believe that looking into waste streams and using upcycling is crucial to reduce emissions. It is our mission to show how much value there is in waste and, ultimately, make waste beautiful,” said Mikael Eydt, CEO of Beyond Leather Materials.
Of course, this idea isn’t new. In 2019, Volkswagen debuted an electric concept car at the Los Angeles Auto Show that was upholstered in fabric made from apples. However, that material was only 20% bio-based.
In recent years, automakers and suppliers have experimented with everything from coffee grounds to cacti and even mushrooms.
Yum.
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