Environmentally friendly and animal free leather: Fabrication and characterization

Environmentally friendly and animal free leather also known as “vegan leather” or ‘’artificial leather’’, is an alternative biomaterial produced without the use of any animal component. This biobased material compared to traditional leather shows similar physico-chemical and mechanical properties. Moreover, recent studies show that this class of materials are gradually gaining market in the fashion industry as leather substitutes. In the present study, efforts toward the preparation of such biobased materials using novel formulations agro-waste components is accomplished. Different compositions of the leather-like materials are successfully fabricated using waste maple leave (5-10%) and apple fruit (0-10%) pulp, mixed with additives such as kombucha biomass cellulose (25-40%), biodegradable polyesters (0-25%), and plasticizers (5-20%). The prepared biocomposite materials are characterized for morphology, mechanical, adhesion, and water absorptive properties. SEM results confirm that the fabricated biocomposites are porous and breathable. In addition, tensile, DMA, and adhesion analysis showed that the materials are flexible with considerable mechanical strength. To conclude, this material may be considered as a prospective leather alternative for application in leather accessories, such as handbags and upper shoe sole.