Saahil Tiger Nandrajog, founder of Tiger Marrón, discusses sustainability of lab-grown leather – Are we heading towards this alternative
The luxury fashion house specializing in leather fashion and home accessories, Tiger Marrón, is synonymous with bespoke luxury and expert artisanship when it comes to leather. This progressive brand is moving towards lab-grown leather, with a section of vegan leather accessories ranging from backpacks, laptop bags and a range of fashionable handbags.
But are we really abandoning traditional leather and moving towards the alternatives? The founder of Tiger Marrón tells us.
In 2022, lab-grown leather has taken the market by storm mainly due to its attributes like being sustainable and environment friendly. The biggest ‘trend’ today is conscious consumerism, even though this should be classified as a necessity and moral duty.
What does sustainable lab-grown leather mean?
Leather options like fruit leather, cactus leather, Mylo (mushroom-based leathers) to name a few, and upcycled leather can be deemed sustainable. To classify these as sustainable, it’s important to note that the finished product is holistically environment positive. The raw material used to make the product, manufacturing facilities and the supply chain needs to be environmentally positive. Saahil adds, “The bottom line is that the lab grown leathers should not be finished using harmful chemicals and the production techniques used to make the leather should be sustainable.”
How is vegan leather any different from lab-grown leather?
As per vegan leather, he adds, “The term vegan leather should ideally stand true to its name, but this is not true. Vegan leather is also polyurethane leather, which is lab made, however, it is not sustainable and is harmful for the environment in many ways.”
Lab-grown leather is indeed a great shift from the conventional and will benefit the world greatly if the above-mentioned parameters are met. It’s a wave that cannot be stopped and will be accepted by a few as a new norm.