Analysis
Right: Three petri dishes embedded in a Perspex column. The top petri dish is a picture of the cells grown in the lab. The middle dish is a piece of skin that was generated from those cells. The dish at the bottom is a single piece of the skin tanned and dyed.
Far Right: Connon has no doubt that 3DBT’s product has the same characteristics as traditional leather
500 years to decompose. There are also potential cost savings for tanneries, with lab-grown solutions not needing to go through the process of beaming. Connon points to another advantage, saying that 3DBT’s product could “facilitate more environmentally sensitive tanning approaches”. “Because we can rationally design the tissue [that is, create new molecules by leveraging an understanding of the principles and mechanisms that govern their behaviour] – the density of the collagen, for example – it could be feasible, if you had, say, a vegetable tanning solution that doesn’t totally terribly well with traditional skin, to optimise the production of our skins such that those vegetable tanning works better,” Connon explains.
Target market
and extracellular matrix molecules, which are found in normal skin and leather.”
Aside from providing a solution to the ethical and sustainability questions that traditional leather has to contend with, lab-grown alternatives can overcome many of the limitations of farm-grown leather, 3DBT insists. Animal skins and hides are limited by the size, skin thickness, and life of that animal, leading to inconsistencies and imperfections in the final leather. In contrast, lab-grown leather production can be more consistent, featuring uniform composition and thickness, free of natural imperfections, and can be scaled to produce a larger material. Similar to farm-grown leather, 3DBT’s lab- grown material is also expected to be completely biodegradable in 10-50 years, which contrasts with polymer-based leather alternatives that can take over
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3DBT is targeting the luxury goods sector because it believes that consumers, in particular the younger generations of buyer, “who have an interest in luxury goods are also very aware of the environment and animal welfare”, says Connon.
He also believes that due to the extra costs involved in producing lab-grown leather – at least initially until production scales up – that luxury goods is a market that can bear some increase in the cost of materials. Such considerations are a way off, however, due to Connon explaining that it will be “at least a couple of years” before 3DBT has a product that is commercially viable.
“The next stages,” he says, “once we get the partnerships in place, is scaling up the production. “Strategic partnering is, I think, the way we’re going with what we’re offering. At BSF Enterprise we’re not looking to be a manufacturer of leather – we’re an industrial tissue engineering company. We are working with other people to bring it to market.” ●
Leather International /
www.leathermag.com
3DBT
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