ESG Outlook: Vicki von Holzhausen on Bringing Vegan Leathers to Scale
ESG Outlook is Sourcing Journal’s discussion series with industry executives to get their take on their company’s latest environmental, social and governance initiatives and their own personal efforts toward sustainability. Here, Vicki von Holzhausen, founder and designer of materials company von Holzhausen, discusses bringing plant-based vegan leathers to scale.
Name: Vicki von Holzhausen
Title: Founder and designer
Company: von Holzhausen
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What do you consider to be your company’s best ESG-related achievement over the past five years?
Since 2015, we have been on a mission to design low-carbon materials from plants to replace all leather and plastics with plants for good, through von Holzhausen. With our state-of-the-art technology, innovation lab, and world-class factories, our innovations are the first of their kind to exist at scale. Through our two-pronged business model, we can experiment with our brand of vegan accessories while providing viable material solutions for enterprise companies at scale.
We’ve researched and perfected our plant-based materials while continuing to build upon them. These materials range from plant-based alternatives to leather, vegan leathers, and 100 percent plant-based topcoat technology, which can be used on anything from paper to fabric, paint, wood and beyond, disrupting traditional materials. Our innovations can be used for fashion, furniture, automotive, marine, and aviation, creating new standards of sustainable design using materials of the future. By harnessing the power of plants, we’ve achieved a massive opportunity for the future of various industries with our breakthrough innovations introduced this year.
What are the latest innovations?
In the last five years, we’ve introduced several material innovations, including Technik, Banbu and Struktur. This year our team debuted Liquidplant topcoat and Replant material innovation, both of which utilize biodegradable ingredients to create durable materials without toxins or microplastics. Liquidplant is the first-ever 100 percent plant-based performance topcoat that replaces petroleum versions. It’s made with ingredients like sugar, oil and seeds transformed through molecular processes to make the material ultra-durable. Liquidplant can biodegrade back into the soil and provide nutrition, or it can be recycled back into more Liquidplant. Replant™ uses agricultural waste sourced directly from farms where there is an abundance of plant waste left on the field after harvesting. The waste would otherwise be burned, releasing CO2 into the air and pollution into the soil. Using fibers made from waste, Replant conserves 60 percent more water, and two times more energy than cotton fibers.
What is your personal philosophy on shopping and caring for your clothes?
My commitment to a vegan diet and lifestyle extends to all aspects of my life. I’m all about quality over quantity to minimize my environmental impact, and support brands that have the same values. I don’t buy anything derived from animals or made with plastic though the latter is quite challenging being that plastic hides in things we use everyday.
After spending years designing in the automotive industry, I am dedicating my efforts with von Holzhausen to raise awareness for sustainable design with the mission of inspiring other companies and providing innovations they need to create consciously.
How much do you look into a brand’s social or environmental practices before shopping?
When shopping for new items, I am quite discerning when it comes to which brands I invest in but I am a bit of a vintage shopper. Beyond the environmental and social reasons, I am inspired by design, especially from the ’60s and ’70s. Mixing vintage with new pieces brings a richness and uniqueness to dressing which is artful and authentic.
Anything new you are doing to boost sustainability beyond the fashion industry?
Beyond our contributions to fashion sustainability, our materials have been featured in projects like the redesign of the iconic Soriana Chair using Replant upholstery, as well as collaborations with Unplugged Performance to reimagine a Tesla Model S with Banbū, showcased at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Most recently, we partnered with the Volkswagen Group on the CUPRA Dark Rebel, a show car presented at the IAA Mobility Show in Munich. These partnerships exemplify how conceptual projects can shape the future of sustainable design, inspiring various industries such as furniture, automotive, marine and aviation to adopt more eco-friendly approaches.
What is the biggest misconception consumers have about sustainability in fashion/accessories?
There’s a huge misconception around the idea that synthetic leather alternatives are automatically more eco-friendly than genuine animal leather, because it’s far from the truth. The massive leather industry, worth approximately $116 billion, has major environmental impacts due to its use of livestock, tanning processes and plastic coating to make it durable. The $78 billion synthetic leather industry is no better. While it eliminates the use of livestock, it still relies on the same plastic coatings for durability. It’s a flawed trillion dollar industry that contributes heavily to long-lasting plastic waste and climate change.
Most people don’t realize how ubiquitous plastic is in our everyday products. At von Holzhausen, we want to debunk these misconceptions and raise awareness of the true cost of these seemingly sustainable alternatives, and provide solutions that remove our reliance on livestock and plastic-based materials for design.
What was your company’s biggest takeaway from the pandemic?
We have always believed in a “just-in-time” design and manufacturing strategy which was fully realized for us during the Covid crisis. For context, the just-in-time inventory system refers to the strategy where companies receive the inventory products only when they are needed. In our case, we build materials only after orders are placed and the need is there, rather than building stockpiles of materials and products. This takes meticulous planning and agility to achieve, and we invested in this approach because we felt it contributes to our brand’s mission and is far better for the environment.
What is your company’s latest ESG-related initiative?
Aside from the materials we’ve introduced thus far, our team is focused on evolving the way companies think of materials they design with—imagining sustainable design beyond leather and expanding this awareness to explore partnerships with some of the biggest companies leading various respective industries. With our current library of materials, we’re also looking at ways to showcase its performance and durability, running them through testing of automotive industry rigor and with this, consistently looking at our material chemistry to improve the sustainability of each of them.
As consumers become more aware of worker conditions and how clothing is produced, how can the industry best spread the word on progress?
It’s crucial for customers to have a clear understanding of the various aspects of a company, particularly its production practices, enabling them to make more informed choices about the brands they support. At the same time, companies have a responsibility to be transparent about their efforts to improve worker conditions and sustainability. They should provide customers with information about how they rank within the industry regarding these important themes and share the frameworks they are implementing to drive positive change. By fostering a culture of education and transparency, the fashion industry can build trust with consumers and encourage ethical and sustainable practices throughout the supply chain.
What is the apparel industry’s biggest missed opportunity related to securing meaningful change?
Despite ongoing concerns about fashion’s contributions to climate change, the most significant missed opportunity in securing meaningful change has been the lack of industry-wide accountability. In the absence of a unified and standardized approach to accountability there’s a significant gap that hinders the industry’s progress. With this, companies and consumers alike should be encouraged to understand the true costs of the products they create and consume—including what happens to them at the end of their lifespan! It’s crucial for the apparel industry to come together and establish frameworks that hold companies accountable for their sustainability commitments.
