Evolved By Nature Lines Up New Italian and Thai Tanneries
Evolved By Nature has 14 top tanneries supporting its eco-friendly substitute for chemical-heavy leather finishings. It’s a major advancement since the sustainable chemistry company raised $120 million last year.
In business since 2013, the Chanel-backed Boston-area innovator announced that eight partners in Bangkok and six in Italy will be producing leather using the proprietary Activated Silk peptides it has turned into a water-proofing treatment free of PFAS and other questionable chemicals. Evolved By Nature claims that its sustainable solution, called the Activated Silk L1 biofinishing system, outperforms fossil fuel-derived finishes when tested for wet colorfastness to rubbing, as well as breathability and flex resistance.
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“We’re proud to offer a new set of tools that can help the modern tanner create articles that live up to their standards, while helping leather return to its natural origins,” said Dr. Greg Altman, co-founder and CEO of Evolved by Nature. “Leather has the potential to be not only a beautiful material but a much more sustainable one as well.”
Most of the tanneries which committed to using the Evolved By Nature Activated Silk L1 biofinishing system are members of the Leather Working Group, the organization promoting responsible production in the global sector. They include Sirte, Curtiba, Fracopel, Nuova Overlord and leather traders Pellami Due C in Italy, and Kongsiri, Chun Wang Brothers, Chankij, Classic, Limsilp, Vaikijanek, and SF Leather in Thailand.
This marks a significant step forward since Evolved By Nature helped dress “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” star Lupita Nyong’o in a PFAS-free form-fitting Jonathan Cohen getup for the film’s Mexico City red carpet premiere last year. The finishing technology showcased on the Academy Award-winning actress is now available to tanneries at commercial scale.
For Altman, the solution born from castoff silkworm cocoons can help brands curb their carbon footprint and ditch polyurethane. The silk-based natural alternative finishing is comprised of three layers, including a biodegradable basecoat, a topcoat and family of auxiliary chemicals to vary the optics, haptics and performance of finished articles. This approach eliminates polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS and with them the need for cross-linkers, the carcinogenic chemical sets that get added to most leather finishing as bonding agents for waterproofing.
Altman believes Evolved By Nature’s Activated Silk L1 biofinishing system can help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2 million kilos in the next three years. That includes a 5 gram reduction in carbon dioxide per square foot of leather produced annually, and a 76 percent reduction in emissions from energy reduction in topcoat application. The industry produces 3 billion square feet of leather every year.
In addition to Cohen, Evolved By Nature has collaborated with designers including Anya Hindmarch, Grace Ling and Patrick McDowell. In addition to its application in leather tanning, its barrier enhancing ingredients are used in branded and third-party personal care products as replacements for fossil fuel derivatives like petrolatum or synthetic chemicals like retinoids. Apparel companies that have adopted its biodegradable high-performance finishes include Dubai’s Alpine Creations and Apex Holdings in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital city. Activated Silk also has biomedical applications because of its water-resistant quality and antimicrobial properties that come from the silkworms’ diet of mulberry leaves, said to be rich in anti-microbial copper.
Altman pointed out how truly cruelty-free and sustainable the biofinishes are, being made from cocoon waste and fed with the power of the sun on the mulberry leaves.
He called the notion of vegan leathers an “incredible greenwashing ploy,” because most are coated in petrochemicals of some sort.
The biggest boon to the adoption of the silk biofinishing agent will be for the tanneries and the health of their workers. “We have a tangible solution to replace PFAS chemicals in a multi-million dollar industry,” Altman said. “It’s real, it works and it can make tanneries much more profitable.”
Tannery employees will also be exposed to far fewer carcinogenic chemicals and there will be less toxic waste.
Evolved By Nature accelerated commercialization of Activated Silk technology, often called “pure silk in liquid form,” after several funding rounds by TVG, Senator Investment Group, Chanel, Mousse Partners, Jeff Vinik, The Kraft Group, Roy Disney and Emerald Development Managers. It opened a full-scale manufacturing facility in Walpole, Mass. in May.
