Today, the animal cause is more and more at the heart of fashion brands' reflections. And that's just as well! Creating a product in natural fur is unimaginable for a brand today. Python, crocodile and other exotic leathers are following the same trend. Last April, Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot announced that they would no longer use reptile skins, citing the "suffering of these animals, which are sometimes skinned alive".

The next step will be leather. It is bound to follow the same path. Recently, the shocking images of cows mistreated in a French laboratory have had a lot of media coverage. (source association L214) 

So what can be used to replace all these materials? The best known traditional alternative is synthetic leather.

What does 'skai' actually consist of? 

To make it thicker, it's a plasticizing liquid mixed with PVC powder to create a thicker texture. Dyes are added, put in the oven and applied several layers on a cotton canvas (!) and tadaaa, here is synthetic! While it is true that this material does not contain any animal elements, it cannot be said that this oil-based plastic is ecologically responsible. The worst thing is that plastic is nowadays found in the most remote ecosystems such as the deep seas. In short, synthetics are no joy for the environment either.

Plant-based materials are the future

The future is in plant-based materials with a reduced carbon impact, very often recyclable, sometimes even biodegradable such as natural gum, or materials based on renewable plants such as corn or mushroom fibre.

These materials still have areas for improvement which we will develop in the near future. Nevertheless, they are definite advances over existing animal-based alternatives.

In addition, it avoids the "skai"! fake plastic leather