In a world where fashion is changing faster than ever, there is increasing pressure on natural resources and the environment. The fashion industry, known for its dynamism and innovation, is one of the biggest polluters on a global scale. For this reason, sustainable fashion is becoming not only a trend, but also a necessity, and one of the significant achievements in this field comes from the laboratory of the innovative company Sabant.
Its founders, Tamara Vučetić and Andrej Marić from Zagreb, came up with the idea of creating a high-quality material called “Beer Skin” from the remains of barley malt, waste from the beer industry.
Tamara Vučetić, who completed her master’s studies in the field of fashion entrepreneurship in Amsterdam, reveals to us that “Beer Skin” is a versatile material, the characteristics of which depend on what we want to make of it.
– If we are talking about material intended for making clothes, we are talking about stretchy, thin and light material. However, if someone wants to make a purse or wallet, then we are talking about thicker and more rigid materials. What can be made of “Beer Skin” is limited only by the creativity of the person using it – explains our interlocutor.
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She looked back at the very beginning of this unusual business venture, pointing out that while she was running her fashion brand, she wanted to use plant materials, but they did not meet the necessary quality standards and were not available enough.
– From this frustration actually came the idea to create my own plant-based material. The very idea of using beer, that is, the beer trope, came partly by accident, because my business partner Andrej and I lived across the street from the Zagreb Brewery, not to mention that the company was started with, of course, beer – says Vučetić and jokingly adds that they were not could miss the opportunity to say somewhere “My sneakers are made of beer!”
When it comes to the material production process, Tamara explains that everything starts with the collection of used barley malt from the breweries with which Sabant cooperates. This precious resource, which is otherwise largely thrown away as waste, is collected before it starts to ferment, then dried and ground. Grinding is a key step because it achieves the specific granulation necessary for the integration of plant matter into formulas for obtaining beer skins. “Beer Skin” is produced in cooperation with the Italian partners of the company Sabant, according to the formulation developed by young entrepreneurs with the help of experts from the Faculty of Science and Mathematics in Zagreb.
In this way, the material market is richer for an ecological and sustainable alternative to artificial leather, for the production of which toxic materials and plastic are often used.
– Our goal has always been for plant-based leather to replace standard available artificial materials, such as those called vegan leather, and to reduce the amount of plastic used in the production of these materials. By switching from standard vegan leather to plant-based leather, we could reduce the amount of plastic produced by several million tons per year – points out Andrej Marić.
Prepared by: Milena Maglovski
Source: energetskiportal.rs
