Creating a More Sustainable Future at ISA TanTec
ISA TanTec™ has launched its Greener Pastures™ Protocol as part of its LITE (Low Impact to the Environment) production and sourcing strategy. Specifically designed for cattle hides, the new FW2022 collection of Greener Pastures™ leathers are fully traceable by lot to the farms or ranches, through chain of custody documentation. As part of ISA TanTec™’s sustainability promise, the company makes sure that each supply partner meets specific animal welfare standards including Beef Quality Assurance (BQA), Beef Quality Assurance Transportation (BQAT), and USDA Humane Handling protocols.
“We aim to responsibly source all cattle hides, as well as chemicals, packaging, and other materials and assets in our supply chain,” said Uwe Hutzler, CEO of ISA TanTec™ Group. “All the practices are up to standards and are founded on a continuous improvement approach.”
Sustainability is currently top of mind for the fashion industry, and brands must balance the right eco-friendly materials that can reduce the water, energy, and chemicals impacts of a product with its performance. ISA TanTec™’s industry-setting LITE (Low Impact To the Environment) Concept is proof of commitment to a broad vision for greener leather sourcing, manufacturing, and innovation of sustainable alternative materials. ISA TanTec™, a global industry leader in leather production, continues to innovate its responsible supply chain management from sourcing raw material, strict chemicals management, and reduction of water, energy, and chemicals usage during the manufacturing process.
Alongside LITE, ISA TanTec™ recently launched its Creation of Sustainable Materials (COSM) Division. This initiative innovates and develops new sustainable materials, notably mushrooms and other natural derivatives in order to develop high-quality textiles that minimize carbon footprint, water usage, and chemical consumption. The production process also incorporates byproduct from previous cycles to minimize overall waste.
“For more than 2 years, we have been investigating and researching with scientists to build these new sustainable materials along with our unique ISA leathers,” said Thomas Schneider, executive chairman of the ISA TanTec™ Group.
The use of mushrooms is a growing trend as the fashion industry discovers their incredible properties. The first of COSM’s product launches is called Hyphalite, a natural and biodegradable material produced with mushrooms unsuitable for human consumption sourced from local farmers in Vietnam.
“Mushrooms are an amazing, fast, renewable natural organism. Due to its rapid growth, its feedstock availability is almost unlimited,” said Dr. Reiner Hengstmann, VP of Additional Materials of the ISA TanTec™ Group.
As companies across the industry embrace new and better ways to protect the environment, ISA TanTec™ is a true leader showing how to produce sustainable materials that don’t compromise on quality and performance.
For more information, please visit www.liteleather.com
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