Key Points
- Cellulose “leather” is grown through mother-yeast fermentation, not coated plastics or animal hides.
- Water-resistant performance achieved without PU or toxic tanning; surface protection derives from bio-based methods.
- Production aims for circularity: reusable process water, upcycled inputs, and waste returned as soil or feedstock.
- QR mapping discloses energy, water use, and renewable inputs to counter greenwash and verify claims.
- Near-term focus is material supply (not a fashion brand), targeting sewable strength while keeping chemistry minimal.
Full interview with HER Studio
1. How do you approach the challenge of finding or creating sustainable alternatives to traditional leather?
We consider cellulose-based leather-like material an alternative for the leather industry because of its natural brown color, similar strength, softness, and texture. However, during the creation process, we see it in a very different stage.
If we wanted to create a product that resembled traditional leather, we would likely need to use chemicals. Just think like, if you do not use any chemicals on the genuine leather, you can't wear them.
We believe that we are creating something unique since we are following just the natural processes. Thus, nature gives us different stories in every created layer. To overcome difficulties, we delve into nature and follow its guidance to find a solution to make it sustainable and circular. The main point here is not to be stuck in finding alternatives to something.
2. Will it be possible for biomaterials to be the prominent materials instead of synthetic ones in the fashion industry?
I have no doubt about it. I have been trying to build Project HER for around 4 years, and I faced many people who tried to make me believe that it is impossible to make our cellulose-based leather-like material water-resistant and strong enough for the industry. However, today, HER cellulose leather product is water-resistant and strong enough to sew without the use of any hazardous chemicals.
Just one thing bothering me in this industry, which is greenwashing. I think doing something for the change is already perfect. There's no need to hide the truth, but we need to be transparent to be constructive and supportive to the new techs. Creating an eco-friendly base and using chemicals to give it strong features is easy, but pushing the industry to create new solutions to avoid chemicals is better, and this is what we are trying to do.
3. Please walk us through your process of creating this cellulose-based leather-like material?
We are taking advantage of the symbiotic relationship between bacteria and yeast through the fermentation of organic materials and water with the help of mother yeast. In the proper environment, mother yeast gives us a new bio-layer that becomes cellulose leather at the end of the process.
This is also why we call the project HER since it is a story of a mother yeast. In addition to this, we are not producing any fashion products but materials to be fashion products for manufacturers. We believe we don’t need more fashion brands on Earth.
Ensuring a natural production process is our top priority, as we use fermentation as our production chain. This approach has enabled us to repurpose used water as a liquid plant fertilizer or brewed drink. Additionally, we are able to upcycle our waste as vegetable soil for agriculture.
The problem here we faced is to keep it not only sustainable but also circular, starting from the first base material of the production chain. The point we reached today is that the waste materials generated by the industry can now be utilized as our primary resources. Now, we are trying to solve the transportation problem where we might cause carbon emissions.
4. Leather has often been criticized for its environmental impact, particularly in terms of the tanning process. How do you address these concerns in your work?
With the rising awareness, we all agree not only the genuine leather industry but also fast fashion and its sub-areas are very harmful to our world. Thus, any kind of development, without greenwashing, is crucial to fix this, even just for creating demand.
In our case, which is a cellulose leather-like material production, we also need to use the protective surface to adapt our bio-material into the market, let’s say to make it wearable. I received suggestions to use the blender method for poly-based additions, which many biomaterial producers use, or to cover the surface with polyurethane.
However, these approaches do not align with our objective of going plastic-free and hazardous chemical-free. Thus, for a long time, we couldn't find how to make it water-resistant. We collected the inspiration from Mother Nature, and after a lot of trials and errors, today we succeeded in making it water-resistant without using hazardous chemicals. We also have an ongoing game-changing development that is the result of comparing our material with its relatives in nature.
5. How should brands educate consumers about the importance of sustainable materials?
Numerous popular brands are introducing sustainable collections alongside their regular production. They do this by publicly announcing their commitment to sustainability on social media through campaign editorials. However, this approach has led to distrust among consumers towards sustainable products and has resulted in greenwashing. Unfortunately, I have come across many disrespectful comments about real eco-friendly products on social media, with people accusing them of greenwashing.
Our company has implemented a business strategy that enables consumers to track our activities through a QR code and mapping system. This system provides transparent information on the amount of water and energy consumed and how much of it is repurposed. Additionally, consumers can view the amount of energy used and how much of it is sourced from renewable energy systems. This level of transparency allows for a clear understanding of our operations and our commitment to sustainable practices.
In this century, it is not enough to only create eco-friendly products. We also have to adapt to globalization and advancements in technology. However, we must also be mindful of not creating a digital mess while adapting and developing technology with tracking product systems. There are many factors to consider in this area, and as an individual, I am happy to take all of them into account. By adopting sustainability as a responsibility, we can ensure that we make the right choices.
6. How do you envision the role and impact of grown leather in transforming the fashion industry in the coming decade?
I think lots of people continue to prefer genuine leather. However, rising awareness has already created demand in the sector, and brands have to respond to this demand. Apart from vegan and ethical tendencies, in the fashion market, we already have strong pioneers, and new strong trials are coming every day with lots of different developments in creating "living clothes."
For the question, maybe in 10 years, we won't talk about leather anymore but blooming jackets, mossy pants, etc. It is even very exciting to write it here… I hope that we will be able to find genuine leather in only vintage stores in 10 years!
7. Is there a particular aspect of working with grown leather that you find most fulfilling?
The absolute mind-blowing possibility of infinite creativity. Because working with biology is like proving that magic is real. If you add one "unseen" element to the recipe, everything can change suddenly. It's like a spell you can perform. The look, smell, durability, surface design, dreams that you can reach with science... options are infinitive.
When I realized those possibilities, I accepted biology as my design material. For sure, I am not a biologist or scientist. I am just an observer and experimental soul with an intense love and respect for Mother Nature. I am still a designer, but this time, who is not only inspired by nature, but working with nature.
