Electrical and Technology

Vegan leather is a synthetic or plant-based alternative to traditional animal leather. It’s designed to mimic leather’s look and feel without using animal hides, making it cruelty-free. There are two main types: synthetic versions, like polyurethane (PU) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which are petroleum-based plastics, and plant-based options, which use renewable resources like pineapple leaves (Piñatex), cactus, mushrooms (mycelium), apple peels, or even recycled materials. The renewability angle is where it gets interesting. Synthetic vegan leather isn’t inherently renewable since it relies on fossil fuels, though recycling advances are improving its lifecycle. Plant-based vegan leather, on the other hand, leans heavily into renewability. For example, cactus leather from Desserto uses nopal cactus, which grows with minimal water and no irrigation, regenerating naturally. Piñatex taps pineapple leaf waste—stuff that’d otherwise rot—turning it into a renewable resource. Mycelium leathe...