Flower Power

VEGAN 'LEATHER' MADE FROM INDIA'S FADING BLOOMS

You may have already noted the emerging trend for fashion houses in using plant and fungi-based leather alternatives but a recent finalist in the 2022 Earthshot prize, which honours ground-breaking environmental solutions, has gone one stage further by 're-cycling' flowers in order to produce what it calls 'Fleather.' Indian start-up company, Phool (meaning 'Flower' in Hindi) , is currently cleaning up rivers by repurposing flowers from temples across India which often end up in the Ganges and instead of polluting the water as they decay (96% of the flowers cast into the river contain highly toxic pesticides) they are being turned into a sustainable material as a replacement to animal leather.

Not only is animal leather often obtained in an inhumane way, but production harms the environment, as the process of tanning and treating the hide uses energy and water-intensive processes and also chemicals which can pollute water. Cattle rearing produces greenhouse gases and contributes to deforestation.

Initially, in 2017, founder Ankit Agarwal, upcycled the flowers by drying the petals and turning them into incense sticks but then in 2018 some of his fellow workers noticed a whitish layer on a pile of waste flowers on the factory floor which turned out to be a fungal microorganism trying to grow on the flowers. On closer inspection and after various experiments someone noticed the leather-like touch so they began to explore whether they could create a fabric-like material which they started producing in 2021. Now they employ 163 female 'flowercyclers' from the Dalit caste who collect waste flowers and they've made a number of different prototypes from their breathable tensile material, including wallets, handbags and footwear. They're currently working with PVH, the parent company of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger on a pilot project and have also been contacted by a British luxury car maker.

Agarwal's ambition is to make animal leather history which is a bold move, not least because Fleather's birthplace is in Kanpur which also happens to be the mecca of the Indian leather industry. Let's hope Phool's venture firmly takes root and continues to come up roses ...