These Guys Found A Way To Make Leather Out Of Cactus To Help Save The Environment

If you don’t know what Desserto is, it’s time you brushed up your knowledge about luxury leathers. No, it’s not a product derived from the hide of some exotic wild animal. In fact, it has nothing to do with animals!

Foxed? We too were when we came to know this leather is made from nopal, a kind of cactus found abundantly in Mexico and the US, making it a one-of-a-kind vegan leather.

The developers of this leather are Adrián López Velarde and Marte Cázarez, both hailing from Mexico. As it is, nopal is already extensively used in Mexican cuisines, jellies, candies, medicines, and also as an aid to help harden plaster. The duo added one more dimension to its list of benefits.

It was in July 2019 that the duo created this marketable cactus leather, after extensive research spanning two years. They named it Desserto and successfully showcased it in October 2019 in Milan, Italy. It wasn’t long before they established their very own company, Adriano Di Marti.

What’s surprising is both Adrián and Marte weren’t looking for vegan leather, but ways to solve the problem of environmental pollution, which they saw happening in their jobs in the furniture, automotive, and fashion industries. They were also concerned about the pollution caused by animals in slaughterhouses. For example, the pollution-causing energy resources utilized by slaughterhouses, the use of toxic chemicals in pickling animal hides, and other animal wastes.

It was while researching for reducing or preventing this kind of pollution, Adrián and Marte hit upon this cactus vegan leather. Such was their zeal in developing Desserto that they didn’t think twice before chucking their jobs to pursue it full-time.

Desserto was welcomed as an alternative to animal and synthetic leathers since this plant-based cactus leather displays some great qualities. Where this ultra-soft leather scores over the animal and synthetic leathers are its elasticity, breathability, and ability to be more readily customized.

What’s more, it readily complies with the most rigorous quality and environmental standards. Its development also doesn’t require any toxic chemicals, phthalates, or PVC and it’s also partially biodegradable.

Desserto’s wide variety of applications, immaculate performance, and adherence to the required technical specifications has attracted many industries, such as fashion, leather, furniture, and even automobile. It has also won a number of awards, like the MCFW 2020 Fashion Sustainable Award; the Green Award 2020, Germany; and many more.

DESSERTO

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