Synthetic biology is revolutionizing leather production technology.
As with meat and milk, consumer preferences and industry trends are changing rapidly. Last November, Denmark culled 17 million minks due to COVID-19. Shortly thereafter, Copenhagen Furs, a major trade center for mink and other furs, said it would close in 2023. Recently, Israel became the first country to ban the sale of fur.
Other factors have also forced change. Animal rights activists, public health experts and ecologists often point to the adverse effects of tanneries on the environment and public health. The process from raw hide to leather requires the involvement of a range of chemicals, such as decomposing and removing non-fibrins from the skin with alkali; "pickling" the raw hides with sulfuric acid and other chemicals; tanning leather with chromium sulfate; and second tanning with plant or synthetic tannins to soften the leather. Each stage results in wastewater being discharged into the environment. In some clusters, the damage caused by such activity is visible in satellite imagery.
Influential fashion brands have become aware of the ethical controversies that exist in leather and fur and have begun to use their alternatives.
Professor Gabor Forgacs is a member of the Department of Biophysics at the University of Missouri, and in 2011 Forgacs father and son founded the company Modern Meadows to produce leather using synthetic biology techniques.
Modern Meadows focuses on the starting point for creating biomanufacturing materials, namely proteins. Since its inception, several different biomanufacturing processes have been experimented with and its approach has been continuously evolved to create materials that support sustainability, while also prioritizing performance, aesthetics, and accessibility. The current market capitalization has exceeded $500 million.
(Source: Shenghui SynBio based on CB Insights data)
Collagen is the main structural protein found in the skin and connective tissue and is the most abundant (25-35%) protein in mammals. Long interwoven collagen fibers are locally aligned with the shape of the mammalian body to form the structural basis of the skin.
Using synthetic biology to produce leather, roughly akin to making heme protein for meat or casein for milk, entrepreneurs are now brewing collagen, once again following the familiar five-step process. First, scientists on The Forgacs team sequenced or "read" the genomes of dozens of mammals; then, identified the gene that produces collagen; inserted that gene into industrially utilized microbes; the fourth step was a precise fermentation process, unlike brewing beer, where the modified microbes grew under controlled conditions to produce expandable amounts of collagen; and the fifth step produced synthetic bio-leather.
In October, Modern Meadow announced the formation of BioFabbrica, a pioneering joint venture with Limonta, a world-renowned Italian textile and materials company.
The first material developed by BioFabbrica is a bio-based material that can replace leather, such as bioalloy technology. The material is lightweight, with a quality appearance, tactile feel and gloss similar to leather, as well as excellent color expression and dyeing ability.
These materials do not involve any animals and significantly reduce the use of raw fossil fuels, replaced by sustainably sourced plant-based biological components. As a result, these materials can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% compared to leather. Thanks to the cooperation with Limonta, these materials are produced at ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 9001 certified manufacturing sites.
BioFabbrica is currently working with several brands, with premium fashion brand Senreve announcing the launch of its first handbag with bioalloy technology on International Women's Day on March 8, 2022.
Synthetic bio-leather production technology has proven to be quite attractive. In fact, some companies have successfully experimented with more complex organisms such as filamentous fungi as possible industrial model organisms. A well-funded startup, Bolt Threads, boldly succeeded in commercializing spider silk protein in the textile market, did produce spider silk protein using engineered microbes and then even spun it into small amounts of ties and other fashion accessories. But then it is difficult to solve the problem of expanding the size of the economy.
Yeast can't produce on this scale, but mushrooms have room to rise. Turning their attention to synthetic leather, they began exploring the use of filamentous fungi to produce hyphal leather under the brand Mylo.
Mylo looks and feels very similar to leather, but is made in the laboratory from the mycelium of the root of wild mushrooms, and is a renewable leather material with environmental characteristics. Mycelium is the part where mycelium is buried in the ground by fungal plants, and the mycelium that Mylo uses as a raw material grows quickly and efficiently, growing within two weeks, so it emits fewer greenhouse gases, requires less water and other resources than animal leather, and has less impact on the environment.
Bolt Threads has reached exclusive partnerships with a number of international fashion and luxury companies for the use of its patented biomaterial Mylo, including French luxury giant Kering, British designer Stella McCartney, German sporting goods giant Adidas and Canadian yoga clothing brand Lululemon.
Early next year, yoga clothing brand Lululemon is likely to launch yoga mats and yoga bags made from mushroom-derived leather; Stella McCartney has also launched clothing made from mycelium leather; and other leading brands such as Adidas are replacing the animal leather in their shoes with leather made from synthetic biology.
Resources:
https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/cant-hide-from-the-oncoming-leather-revolution/2386949/
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