Scientists have been searching for ethical, high-quality alternatives to animal leather, which notoriously comes with environmental costs and ethical compromises. While synthetic alternatives solve the ethical dilemma, many of them are plastic-based and very difficult to recycle. Now, researchers…
New VTT research offers a scalable, durable, and eco-friendly alternative to animal leather using mushrooms.
Leather can get warped and damaged by exposure to water, but it doesn’t dissolve. There are many leatherworking processes that involve soaking or steaming it and I’m not sure if this material would be quite as resistant. I think it’s a fine material, but it does feel a little bit misleading to present it as such a viable alternative to leather while only vaguely hinting at its actual durability and then admitting that it dissolves in water, albeit slowly. What does short term exposure look like? A hole in your faux leather jacket instead of a stain you might be able to fix?
I’ve had a leather wallet for three past ~10 years and it’s been wet a handful of times (not submerged, but things like being in my pocket when I got caught in the rain) and it still is in great condition.
Leather can get warped and damaged by exposure to water, but it doesn’t dissolve. There are many leatherworking processes that involve soaking or steaming it and I’m not sure if this material would be quite as resistant. I think it’s a fine material, but it does feel a little bit misleading to present it as such a viable alternative to leather while only vaguely hinting at its actual durability and then admitting that it dissolves in water, albeit slowly. What does short term exposure look like? A hole in your faux leather jacket instead of a stain you might be able to fix?
I’ve had a leather wallet for three past ~10 years and it’s been wet a handful of times (not submerged, but things like being in my pocket when I got caught in the rain) and it still is in great condition.