--- description: Find out why TomTex Series M and Series WS is one of the best inventions of 2024 title: TomTex Series M and Series WS: the 200 Best Inventions of 2024 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51307884ca80359b/698a8a2e457a5261d7d6f7ab/tomtex-best-inventions.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Oct 30, 2024 # Sustainable Luxury Leather by [Alison Van Houten](/author/alison-van-houten/) ## Alison Van Houten Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  JACK KOTO 347-837-1790 To make handbags that look like marbly prosciutto, [TomTex](https://www.tomtex.com/ "undefined") 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](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/05/style/lvmh-nike-prada-amazon-deforestation.html "undefined"), 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." These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2024/7094868/tomtex-series-m-and-series-ws/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2024/7094868/tomtex-series-m-and-series-ws/"},"headline":"TomTex Series M and Series WS: the 200 Best Inventions of 2024","datePublished":"2024-10-30T11:27:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T11:54:33.522Z","description":"Find out why TomTex Series M and Series WS is one of the best inventions of 2024","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2024/7094868/tomtex-series-m-and-series-ws/","keywords":["Tech","E-Commerce","list","franchise","Magazine","best inventions"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51307884ca80359b/698a8a2e457a5261d7d6f7ab/tomtex-best-inventions.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alison Van Houten","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alison-van-houten/"}],"creator":"Alison Van Houten","articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt51307884ca80359b/698a8a2e457a5261d7d6f7ab/tomtex-best-inventions.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2024/7094868/tomtex-series-m-and-series-ws/","name":"TomTex Series M and Series WS: the 200 Best Inventions of 2024"}}]}] ```