New British company introduces authentic lab-grown leather for luxury goods

A UK tissue engineering company claimed to have “successfully produced lab-grown leather”. It's only at a sampling stage for now, but the team behind it believes it could be a game-changer for the luxury fashion sector.

3D Bio-Tissues (3DBT) is a new biotechnology company. The company is owned by London-based investment firm BSF Enterprise, of which Dr Che Connon is CEO.

Its 'tissue-engineered skin' has been “grown solely from cells for use in the luxury goods market.” Its leather tanning expertise comes from the University of Northampton and 3DBT claims the “ethical and sustainable” leather product helps the industry “meet the growing demand for environmentally and health-friendly alternative leather products.” animals”.

It was revealed on Tuesday at the Future Fabrics Expo in London with the team showing off “rationally designed bioengineered samples that were structurally and genetically identical to traditional leather.”

The product is made without harming any animals, but can still be tanned using traditional leather production processes or, better yet, modern, environmentally friendly methods.

The company's tissue-engineered skin uses only “immortalized cells, isolated and harvested from an adult mare following a strict and painless bioethical process” to produce a skin/skin structure in a laboratory for six weeks without the use of any fabric materials. additional support such as plastics or cellulose in the final leather product.

We're told it differs from alternative lab-grown leather models because it uses the proprietary, serum-free, animal-free cell culture medium supplement called City-mix, “which speeds up tissue production while reducing cost.” of the production process”.

So what we get is something that is 100% animal fabric but without any animal suffering and that can be used in the manufacturing of footwear, clothing, bags, furniture, fashion, automobiles and accessories.

3DBT said there are other issues it overcomes compared to traditional leather.

“Animal hides and skins are limited by the size, thickness of the hide and the lifespan of that animal, which creates inconsistencies and imperfections in the final leather,” he explained. “In contrast, lab-grown leather production can be more consistent, with uniform composition and thickness, free of natural imperfections, and can be scaled up to produce larger material.”

However, like traditional leather, it is also expected to be biodegradable within 10 to 50 years, which contrasts with polymer-based leather alternatives that can take over 500 years to decompose.

The project between the University of Northampton and 3DBT was funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through Innovate UK with support from co-funders including the Scottish Funding Council, the Welsh Government, Invest Northern Ireland and the Department of business. , Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).