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MANGO LEATHER


What is it?
Fruit Leather is a vegan leather like alternative made from fruit - or more specifically, Mango.
It is a vegan and highly sustainable material that is made in the Netherlands from discarded mangoes collected at the local food markets and developed in their HQ in Rotterdam.

Who makes it? 
Koen Meerkerk and Hugo de Boon are behind Fruit Leather and they are based in Rotterdam, where they graduated from the Willem de Kooning academie.
With a bachelor's degree in spatial design, the two young designers have placed their focus on the development of materials.  They moved into their new workplace in Bluecity where they work together with other circular businesses towards a zero waste economy.

How is it made? 
After collecting food waste from the market stands, the team makes sure all seeds are taken out of the fruit before they cut it up and mash it. Then they remove all bacteria from the fruit by boiling it, to ensure that it won't rot. The next step is spreading the paste onto a "specific surface," which de Boon said is "crucial in the drying process." Once it's dried, the raw Fruit Leather material is produced. The actual development  process is according to them “ a company secret”.

Environmental impact.
Farmers tend to leave up to 40% of their harvest in the fields, because it does not meet the cosmetic standards for the supermarkets. Collecting and recycling this waste and discarded fruits  means less waste from the foodindustry.
No cows or other livestock is involved in developing the vegan leather saving greenhouse gasses and methane emission.
The tanning of the vegan leather is a lot cleaner and not as polluting, as the one used in conventional leather production so the toxins used in the tanning process is reduced.  
The leather is vegan which means that it is 100% cruelty free.