The Sustainable Development Goals of 2030 have inspired some of the most creative minds in the modern day. The introduction of the Green Economy into society has been a game-changer.
Fruity Loops
Koen Meerkerk and Hugo de Boon are two Netherlands-based spatial designers whose brainchild was the FruitLeather Rotterdam.
Driven by a passion to create the best out of waste; these designers have focused on developing materials. In a world where almost 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted, it is seen as a valuable starting material for this company.
Along with the wastage of food, it also takes care of the environmental problem of animal leather.
Origin And BTS
Founded in 2016, they obtained the “waste” mango for free. It served two purposes, their procurement was free, and the trader they obtained from had a free waste management system. Using almost 1,500 mangoes a week, they make the leather, which then gets converted into bags, shoes, and wallets.
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While it may seem unrealistic, the process is relatively simple. They crush the mango to a pulp after de-seeding it.
This is then collected over to a vat where special additives are used to process the puree, which is then laid down flat on trays. It then is dehydrated in a dehydrator to make sheets of mango fiber.
Different mangoes give different colors to the mango sheets, such as the Palmer mangoes giving brownish material and the Keitt mango producing black material fiber sheets. It further goes into processing for better durability by covering in a protective glaze.
Their quality check happens for parameters such as thickness and is then treated with resin to make the protective covering. After the drying of the coating, it is embossed to give the final touches and then sold to various designers across the world.
How Does It Help?
While most of the world is dependent on animal hide for leather, with added chemicals, vegan leather usually takes the form of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyurethane. PVC has earned its infamy for producing high amounts of toxic chlorine and harmful dioxides, which do not decompose easily.
While not dealing in plastic and fostering the vegan spirit of “Do No Harm”, FruitLeather has its roots in mangoes, making it authentic vegan leather, and not some chemical that is derived and harmful to the environment.
This, in turn, puts their business into a green economy cycle, where they help in waste management, do not use untouched materials, and most importantly, provide some amazing products.
Image Source: Google Images
Sources: Business Insider, Arab News, FruitLeather
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This post is tagged under: the green economy, what is the green economy, economy energy, green energy, green economy India, green revolution, what is a green economy, green jobs, green economy jobs, circular economy, green economy pdf blue economy, UNEP green economy, green chemistry, fruitleather, mango, mango waste, mango leather
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