Vitrolabs, a company that has discovered a tissue engineering process that can grow cowhide in a lab has just raised $46million in funding for production. This is undoubtedly amazing, but what problem is it solving?
Speaking to Forbes magazine, Vitrolabs’ co-founder Ingvar Helgason compared the process to science fiction and said: “We’re growing real animal hides in a lab and transforming them into leather.”
The company used the funding to move into a 45,000 square foot combined laboratory and manufacturing space.
It’s a very clever thing to do. In very broad terms, a biopsy is performed on a cow and the cells are fed into a bioreactor that is rich in nutrients. Then, over three to four weeks, the cells form tissue resembling animal hide. This can then be made into leather by tanning.
But you have to ask one simple question. Why? Hundreds of millions of cattle hides are thrown away every year. Every single one of them is a by-product of the meat and dairy industry.
Josslyn Shi from California College of Art has been crowned Overall Winner of the Real Leather. Stay Different. International Student Design Competition at a glittering final event held at the U.S. Embassy in London.
Think small is where RLSD takes a look at some of the companies around the world that we think are doing the right thing with leather. This is a greenwashing free zone – no matter what they produce, sustainability is at the heart of what they do.
Dublin designer’s twists on the biker jacket add femininity to the classic silhouette
There’s nothing like adding that unmistakable leather smell to your wardrobe in the form of a cool biker jacket or well-fitting dress, but the price of quality clothes doesn’t come cheap.
Thanks to the increase in fashion rental sites, the dream of wearing that leather YSL dress can now be a
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