'Planting' skin from collagen: The industry's laudable environmental protection effort

Genetic technology is currently being used to produce leather without animals. That's when fashion is "grown" right in the laboratory.

The use of animal skin as a material in apparel has been around since ancient times. Based on ancient Egyptian documents, leather sandals were first created from 7,000 years ago, and even more so.

But do you know how those animal skins are handled? This is due to the stage called "tanning" , and this has been an extremely . smelly process.

In the 18th century in London, buffalo and cow skin were often soaked in urine and lime to remove residual hair and flesh. Then they are rubbed with . "dog droppings" to soften the skin, while also preserving it better.

The stench of these steps caused the tanning profession to be completely banned in the inner city, and forced to move to the swept area of ​​the Bermondsey River.

Leather tanning in the past was extremely terrible.

The modern tanning method has become less "nauseous" . Dog feces, lime and urine are replaced by chromium and other chemical compounds.

But from here, there are many other problems that are equally serious. First, the chemicals used in this industry make the surrounding environment seriously polluted.

And two, the animal protection movement in modern society is vehemently condemning the use of animal skin in the fashion industry. And so, business owners and scientists must join hands to find a more efficient way.

The leather factory from collagen - the fashion industry's laudable effort

So far, polymers synthetic leather are often considered to be the leading products that can replace leather. But because it cannot meet the requirements for durability and toughness like real leather, synthetic leather is certainly considered a cheap, and not appreciated.

And so the "plant" of collagen skin in the factory becomes a new hope.

When fashion is "grown" in the laboratory.

The pioneer in this technology is Modern Meadow, a manufacturer of apparel in the United States. Last year 2017, the company moved the factory to Brooklyn (New York) where 60 employees are quietly developing completely new materials.

Modern Meadow has called for $ 50 million in capital from investors and is collaborating with a number of secret laboratories, which will soon launch the product widely to the market within the next two years. This leather-growing plant is holding many factors that make this new product superior to traditional leather products.

Unlike limited-sized animal skins, engineers here can produce customized-sized pieces of leather that fit all shapes of materials. In addition, this skin type is less scratched and has the same durability, even higher than traditional leather.

More importantly, they can make us feel less guilty when wearing a pair of beautiful leather shoes, and breathe a sigh of relief knowing that no animals have to go to the slaughterhouse to create those shoes.

No creature died of biological skin.

To produce this special skin, Modern Meadow uses a special yeast to create a cow-like collagen protein. Collagen is the core protein structure in the animal body, creating supple and elastic properties for the skin.

It consists of chains of amino-acids, each of three twisted strands. Finally, they combine to form a bundle of fibers.

Basically, the synthesis of amino-acids bundles in animal skin also involves the participation of a special cell, called fibroblast. But Modern Meadow intervenes, making this process happen without the need for a fibrous fiber.

Although he did not disclose details of the mechanism of action, according to Modern Meadow, controlling fibroblast involvement makes it easy for people to interfere with the arrangement of skin layers, and refine them at will.

This brings a great consequence to the leather industry in the future, when we can produce bio-leathers at different locations, with the same quality. Moreover, with the same input material, a factory can produce hard, hard leather that can produce soft leather to meet all customers' requirements, while the price is extremely competitive. compared to real animal skin.

Collagen skin samples have too many advantages.

The first jacket made from this special leather will first appear at a fashion show in 2018 at the New York Museum of Contemporary Art.

Biotechnology will be extremely proud when striding on the fashion catwalk. Because this is the most perfect proof, it shows that people are fully capable of creating alternative products, ensuring maximum harmony of their interests but not harming the natural environment.