Beyond Leather

Beyond Leather, previously known as The Apple Girl, upcycles the waste left over after apple juice and cider production, to produce vegan leather that is eco-friendly, sustainable, and cruelty-free. The organization has partnered with Innovation Fund Denmark, Agro Business Park and Accelerace to make their innovative technology a success.  

Conventional leather production, based on animals, is one of the biggest pollutants of the environment, causing high CO2 emissions. It also requires more than 16,000 litres of water just to produce 1 kg of animal leather. Poisonous and harmful chemicals such are formaldehyde, coal-tar derivatives, and cyanide-based dyes are also used in the tanning process. The entire practice is hence unhealthy and unsustainable.

Beyond Leather aims to fight this practice and create a circular economy by using apple pulp waste.

• Feedstock they accept: Apple waste leftover after producing cider and juice
• Input: Apple pulp
• Technology type: Environment-friendly process
• Output: Vegan apple leather
• Potential applications: Textile industry, fashion industry, mobile accessories, toys
• Facility locations: Denmark
• Facility capacities: Transforms apple pulp waste into vegan leather
• Is it food grade or not: Yes

The company requires just 5 kilograms of apple pulp to make 1 square meter of high-quality material that is known as apple leather. The material developed can be thick or thin as required and is resistant to mould.

• It has a unique sensuous tactility and is soft to the touch.
• It can easily be cut, stitched, and even coloured as required.
• The apple leather can be crafted to be rigid or flexible, as required.
• The production process requires around 1 litre of water per meter of leather, as compared to the high water consumption in case of animal-based leathers.
• The entire process is based on tech-driven research and uses safe and biodegradable ingredients, making it sustainable for the leather industry.
• The leather produced is eco-friendly, uses zero harmful chemicals and reduces carbon emissions by 85%.

Hannah Michaud from Beyond Leather received the Innovation Business in 2017 scholarship award and was nominated as Idealist of the Year for the Ivækst Prize 2017. The organization was also one of the twelve finalists at Scale Up Denmark 2019. Recently, Beyond Leather also won Clim@2020 as well, for its contribution to the environment. They have also partnered with Rockstart Agrifood.

Consumers for sustainable vegan leather or animal leather alternatives are the primary target groups for Beyond Leather. Applications are primarily focused on furniture and Interior design. Interested clients can order a sample box containing 4 apple leather variants, on the organisation’s website, before they decide to place bulk orders.