Hemp residue

LOVR

The production of leather is extremely harmful to the environment. In addition to a high carbon footprint in the process and the use of harmful chemicals in its development, leather also carries the stigma of animal suffering. The greatest difficulty for the textile industry is to develop a truly sustainable alternative to this material. Unfortunately, greenwashing is a common practice in the field. Most vegan leather options on the market today have plastic and other petroleum-based substances in their composition. Furthermore, the mixture of materials makes the products non-recyclable.

This is where LOVR comes in. It is the true leather alternative that consists of 100% plant material and has a minimal ecological footprint. The textile looks and feels like leather. The single-layer structure allows for dyeing and a variety of colours. LOVR is also malleable and non-abrasive.

The unique composition technology allows the product to be fully recycled. The textile is also biodegradable and is free of chemicals and plastic. LOVR’s manufacturing process requires only 0.3% of the CO2 emissions used in leather production.

The production of LOVR is based on a regional circular economy. LOVR’s manufacturing is carried out from residues of hemp cultivated in Germany. The plant is primarily grown for medicinal and nutritional purposes. LOVR takes care of the by-products. Other advantages of hemp are that it has a high density of cultivation, it is an efficient carbon sink, and its cultivation is increasing significantly in Europe.

LOVR is sustainable and the technology behind its manufacturing is scalable. It is the possibility for change in the textile industry.

Making process

The manufacturing process of LOVR enables continuous production of existing machinery. This technology transfer allows the use of existing plants and processes optimised for cost and energy efficiency. The result is a single-layer material that requires neither a substrate nor a coating and therefore offers customers many benefits in terms of variability and processability.

Text submitted by the maker and edited by the Future Materials Bank. For information about reproducing (a part of) this text, please contact the maker.