--- --- Oct 09, 2025 # Uncaged Innovations Elevate A more authentic leather alternative by [Jenna Igneri](https://time.com/author/jenna-igneri/) ## Jenna Igneri  Courtesy Uncaged Innovations Uncaged Innovations is reinventing plant-based leather alternatives by starting with the very foundation of animal leather: collagen. “We asked, ‘What makes leather _leather_?’” says co-founder Stephanie Downs. The result is Elevate, a material made with plant proteins from grains like wheat, soy, rice, and other agricultural byproducts that mimic collagen’s fibril structure; it looks, feels, and performs like traditional leather while “emitting 95% fewer greenhouse gases, using 89% less water, and 71% less energy” to make, according to the company. Car makers Jaguar Land Rover and Hyundai are exploring using Elevate in their interiors. 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. Uncaged Innovations Elevate: The Best Inventions of 2025 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2025/7318328/uncaged-innovations-elevate/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2025/7318328/uncaged-innovations-elevate/"},"headline":"Uncaged Innovations Elevate","datePublished":"2025-10-09T11:00:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T11:54:50.584Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2025/7318328/uncaged-innovations-elevate/","keywords":["Tech","E-Commerce","list","franchise","Magazine","best inventions","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","Best Inventions 2025"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc59d55740eae2b01/6998ca3283ec3724d7c7af92/elevate-TIME-best-inventions-2025.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jenna Igneri","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jenna-igneri/"}],"creator":"Jenna Igneri","articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc59d55740eae2b01/6998ca3283ec3724d7c7af92/elevate-TIME-best-inventions-2025.jpg?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-2025/7318328/uncaged-innovations-elevate/","name":"Uncaged Innovations Elevate"}}]}] ```