Since 2017, India-based start-up Phool has been making a variety of products from discarded temple flowers and it is now introducing "Fleather" as a cruelty-free alternative to leather made from the upcycled flowers. As co-founder Ankit Agarwal told the Hindustan Times, "Fleather is a viable alternative to animal leather. We convert floral waste into charcoal-free incense products. But last year, we decided to explore the development of animal-free leather."
Notably, Phool discovered that flower leather contains chitin, which makes the vegan material a suitable substitute for animal skin. By working with unused piles of flowers, Phool created a material with a texture that's so strong and durable that it is said to rival traditional leather materials.
Image Credit: VegNews
What's Driving This Trend
- Flower-based Leather
- Opportunity to explore and develop cruelty-free alternatives to traditional animal leather using upcycled flowers.
- Vegan Leather
- Potential for disruptive innovation in the leather industry by creating a durable vegan material made from chitin found in flower leather.
- Circular Economy
- Opportunity to contribute to a circular economy by repurposing discarded temple flowers into valuable and sustainable leather alternatives.
Who This Affects Most
- Fashion
- Innovation in the fashion industry through the production of cruelty-free leather products made from flower-based materials.
- Sustainable Manufacturing
- Industry potential to adopt sustainable manufacturing practices by utilizing upcycled flowers to create alternative leather materials.
- Home Décor
- Possibility to disrupt the home décor industry by introducing environmentally-friendly and cruelty-free flower-based leather products.
