From agriculture to fashion: coffee grounds become biodegradable leather
Coffee grounds, which usually go straight to the trash after straining the drink, begin to gain new value in a chain that connects countryside and fashion. Waste common in homes, cafes and industries has become raw material for a new venture in the fashion industry.
The idea comes from the Brazilian brand Insider, which started as a startup and is now one of the leaders in technological clothing, that is, using fibers other than cotton in technological industrial processing.
According to the company, the so-called "bioleather" is in the patenting process and will initially be presented in a "concept piece", with no commercial launch for now.
With the remains of brewed coffee from the Insider office in São Paulo, the researchers made 30 prototypes until the current patent phase of the piece was reached.
The next steps are to scale production through partnerships with the coffee chain and place it in retail for the end consumer.
"The great difference between this synthetic leather material, for example, is that it significantly reduces water use by 50 times compared to animal leather tanning", says Karen Prado, the company's research and development leader.
The company claims that bioleather is potentially biodegradable, with at least 75% vegetable composition, and that each square meter incorporates dry coffee grounds equivalent to around 30% of the average daily consumption of ground and roasted coffee per person in Brazil.
Associations, cooperatives, industries linked to coffee can become suppliers of coffee grounds, for example, for the production of Insider, especially since Brazil is the largest producer and exporter of coffee, but there is no data on the giant volume of coffee grounds that remains after the roasted and ground beans are strained.
"We have overcome the stage to develop a material with performance similar to leather and now the next step is to scale this material. There are stages of advancing the level of maturity of the project to reach the market", he added.
From laboratory to clothing
The material was developed in the laboratory in around three months and went through approximately 30 prototypes until it reached a texture, resistance and appearance similar to leather, according to the company.
The proposal, according to the company, is to combine aesthetics, performance and circularity, by reusing waste generated from one of the most emblematic chains in Brazilian agribusiness.
In tests conducted by the brand's research and development area, 50% of the material decomposed in soil within 15 days and around two thirds within 30 days.
The company also says that the new material's production process consumes less than 2 liters of water per square meter, compared to more than 100 liters in traditional leather tanning - a reduction of more than 50 times.
For Insider, the initiative is part of an expanding market for alternatives to conventional leather. Data from consultancy Future Market Insights, the company states that the global market for materials derived from biological sources is expected to reach US$805 million in 2025, with annual growth of 6.6% until 2030.
The value is driven by the demand for vegan products and solutions that are less polluting than traditional synthetics.
Source: CNN