Sustainable Luxury Leather

To make handbags that look like marbly prosciutto, TomTex actually uses chitosan from mushrooms and discarded shrimp shells. The materials are more than just aesthetically versatile. They're a 100% biobased and biodegradable alternative to the roughly $500 billion leather industry, which drives greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation, particularly in South America. BMW and Mercedes-Benz, as well as fashion houses like Comme des Garçons, have already gone in on joint development projects with TomTex. The secret to success in the crowded world of non-petroleum-based leather alternatives? Price parity. The material will be available in 2025 at $2.50 to $3.50 per sq. ft.—about equal to the cost of mid-tier leather made from animals. "That's a massive thing," says TomTex co-founder and chief of science Ross McBee, "designers not having to choose between the sustainable thing and the thing they normally use."