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Kaltrina Bylykbashi
Aircarbon leather is classified as a transitional material.
Aircarbon leather is a material made by Newlight Technologies that uses ocean-based micro-organisms to turn air and carbon into a meltable, mouldable biomaterial. The material was created and launched in 2019, along with an adjacent brand named Covalent, which uses the material to make carbon-negative accessories such as glasses, laptop sleeves and cardholders.
Aircarbon leaves a footprint of -88kg of CO2e per kilogram, as certified by Carbon Trust, which is why Newlight considers its products carbon negative. The Covalent business also uses IBM blockchain technology that allows consumers to track the carbon footprint and supply chain of its leather accessories, including the date and time when the material was made. To date, Newlight has raised USD 106.6 million in funding.
The process of using microorganisms to turn carbon into a plastic-like material makes this material a PHB. To be precise, the Leather material is made of 51% PHB, and the rest is made up of natural and synthetic rubber, pigment and processing aids. PHB is a biodegradable polymer which is said to naturally degrade without causing pollution.
A wide range of microbiotic species can biodegrade PHB, and film made from the material is said to biodegrade within three weeks. One thing to note about PHB is that it loses quality each time it's processed, which could potentially exacerbate pressure on landfills when products are eventually thrown out. Otherwise, it is one of the more promising transitional materials, but do watch out for the synthetic rubber also used here.
Many alternative leather manufacturers seem to veer into a grey area when producing their materials, where it’s not quite clear if plastic is used for elements such as coating or binders, or not. One brand that makes its plastic-free position quite clear is Mirum, from Natural Fiber Welding, which is made from plant matter, natural rubber, corn, rice husks, and agricultural sidestreams such as coir and cork powder. It uses no synthetic materials and has a USDA 100% biobased certification.
