Fruit Waste Turned Into 'Leather'

Another environmentally conscious and forward thinking project in the Bio/Fermented Fashion movement is the fruit/vegetable waste that is turned into a 'leather' like material that might be used in the fashion industry. Undergraduate students from the Willem de Kooning Academie in Rotterdam have taken it upon themselves to solve one of the biggest social issues these days: food waste. Every day the market vendors throw away more than 7000 pounds of overripe produce.Inspired by chefs who use to mash, cook and dry the fruits to create a candy like leather, the students developed their own look alike leather pieces.The team created a handbag made from mangoes, a shopping bag derived from nectarines, and a lampshade composed of pulped peaches. They've been approached by several manufacturers, among them a German company that makes leather seats for BMW and PORSCHE. The message: Food isn't trash. You need to find a different purpose for it.