Introducing a vegan leather alternative: Apple Leather
Apple Leather is a vegan leather alternative made from AppleSkin™. This is a bio-based material made from apple waste. Once the juice has been extracted from the apples, the peels, stems and fibres are ground into a fine powder. The powder is then delivered to the producing facility, where it is mixed with PU into a liquid material. This mix is currently essential to the strength and durability of the material, but FRUMAT is looking into organic alternatives. The liquid material, that consist of 40% apple waste, is then applied trough a coagulation process to the textile. The final result is a 100% vegan material, ready to be made into O My Bags.
It was hard to find a material that could compete with our real leather on durability and looks, but would also meet our high sustainability standards. After lots of research, we can positively confirm that Apple Leather is the best leather alternative out there. It has a high-quality look and feel, and becomes slightly darker with age, developing a light patina - just like our real leather. We hope you like it just as much as we do.
When it comes to the environmental impact, Apple Leather has a small impact on the land, energy use, and resource consumption, compared to other available materials.
What does it look like?
We were searching for a material with leather-like properties, not just for aesthetic purposes but also for longevity. Apple leather has the same high quality appearance as our cow leathers, and a similar feel. As a vegan leather it has a firm and thick texture, which is also supple, perfect for our bags and accessories.
Why did we choose AppleSkin™?
It wasn’t easy to find a material that could compete with our real leather in terms of durability, looks and our high sustainability standard. Our real leathers are known for their quality, thickness, and their natural ageing process. We evaluated different materials (e.g. leathers made of pineapple leaves or cactus) on durability, looks and sustainability. Besides that, we only wanted to work with a truly innovative material.
After lots of research and material samples, we know AppleSkin™ is the best leather alternative out there for us. It has a high-quality look and feel, it becomes slightly darker and develops a light patina, just like our real leather. FRUMAT, the company that produces AppleSkin™, also shares our company values on continuously improving its sustainability, waste management and circularity, which make them a great fit for us.
Is Apple Leather environmentally friendly?
The material is created as a by-product of the food industry and utilises “waste” to create something new. This inherently has large environmental savings in resource consumption, land use and energy in comparison to creating or harvesting a virgin material. Also, the repurposing of the peels keeps them from de-composting and producing methane that affects the climate. Another plus of the apple leather is that AppleSkin™ is continuously learning and improving (like us) and has big goals to develop their material to be 100% circular. This is just the beginning, and as we keep evolving as a company, so will our products and materials to always give our customers what we believe are the best options. We can honestly say that this is the best leather alternative out there in line with our requirements and we're thrilled to announce to you our first Vegan Collection!
Check out the whole Apple Leather collection now! Make sure you subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Instagram to stay up to date with our exciting New Arrivals.
Love, Team OMB x
