Vegan fashion brand ditches plastic in favour of apple leather

Image: Samara

Totally Vegan Buzz Team8th October 20198th October 2019Fashion and Beauty, News

Toronto based fashion company Samara has created faux leather bags from wasted apple peels instead of plastic.

Although vegan leather is made without animal skin, it does often utilize plastic and can therefore be damaging to the environment.

However, cruelty free brand Samara is making strides in developing products that use more plant-based materials instead of plastic.

Speaking to TreeHugger, co-founder Salima Visram said: “Our goal is to ensure that our products are made out of the finest quality materials and that they are sustainable

“Our promise is to create our products from the least amount of materials possible, without harming any living thing in the process.”

The company recently launched its ‘Mini’ purse made out of wasted apple peels from the juicing industry.

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Some dreamy aesthetics to pick you up this hump day, featuring Granny Smith apples that could be used to make your Mini 🍏
A post shared by SAMARA (@be.samara) on Aug 28, 2019 at 10:50am PDT

The brand’s official statement reads: “As the vegan leather industry is growing, we decided that it was time to raise the bar and start experimenting with other plant-based materials.

“We’ve been hard at work over the last year, aiming to create our best seller—the Mini—out of apple-based leather.

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When we first started experimenting with more sustainable vegan leather, we tried everything. Pineapples, coconut (in our own kitchen), cork, leaves and finally found apples. So here’s a gentle reminder that if apples can turn into Minis – you can be anything! 🍎
A post shared by SAMARA (@be.samara) on Aug 27, 2019 at 6:06am PDT

“After many iterations and quality checks, it’s finally here. Made from apple skins that are by-products of the juicing industry, and some PU that acts as a binding agent, we’ve designed our newest addition to the Mini Collection: our Apple Leather Mini.”

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Did you know, most vegan leather is still currently made from PVC (polyvinylchloride) which is extremely detrimental to the environment? We’ve never used PVC. Then, there’s PU (polyurethane) which is a little better. Then, there’s microfiber which is much better. We used microfiber wherever we could, and PU if necessary. But that’s not enough. We tried creating our own plant based leathers (in our kitchen sometimes) and experimented with coconut and pineapple too. Then we found that Apple leather could look exactly like real leather, and if you mixed it with a little bit of PU, it was durable too. We’ve taken apple skins that are wasted by the juicing industry, to create bags, and we’re going to keep trying to create better vegan leather for you, because it’s high time that the fashion industry becomes more natural, and plant based too 🍎 We can’t wait to show you what’s next!
A post shared by SAMARA (@be.samara) on Sep 19, 2019 at 8:21am PDT

The designers admitted that although their creation still has a bit of plastic in the form of polyurethane (PU) used as a binding agent, the binder is less toxic compared to the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) which is commonly used in the textile industry.

The Mini purse available in red, blush, and black is up for grabs for $50 on the Samara website.

The brand is also committed to sponsor solar powered backpacks for children living in East Africa who have no access to electricity, donating a portion of proceeds from product sales.

Read: 13 Affordable Vegan Fashion Brands You Need To Know About

What do you think of SAMARA’s initiative? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Totally Vegan Buzz Team

The Totally Vegan Buzz Team are a gang of extremely entertaining writers who also happen to be vegan. Together, they bring you all the vegan infotainment you need – trends, news, quizzes and more. Leave them a comment! They love it when you guys say hi…

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Published by Totally Vegan Buzz Team

The Totally Vegan Buzz Team are a gang of extremely entertaining writers who also happen to be vegan. Together, they bring you all the vegan infotainment you need - trends, news, quizzes and more. Leave them a comment! They love it when you guys say hi... View more posts