Modern Meadow’s Bio-VERA™ is a high-performance, upcycled alternative to traditional bovine leather with significantly lower environmental and supply chain impacts.
New Jersey-based materials-science company Modern
Meadow is on a mission to solve challenges for
multiple industries with its circular and bio-inspired alternatives to
industry-standard materials.
By rapidly developing versatile, bio-based alternatives to common,
conventional
materials;
Modern Meadow hopes to quickly reduce reliance on petrochemical and animal
inputs
across industries, while giving brands and manufacturers sustainable options for
designing and engineering next-generation products.
And hot on the heels of the fashion industry’s Deforestation-Free Call to
Action for
Leather
comes Modern Meadow’s latest innovation,
Bio-VERA™ — a high-performance,
upcycled alternative to traditional bovine leather with significantly lower
environmental and supply chain impacts.
Bio-VERA is engineered using Modern Meadow's
Bio-Alloy™ protein/bio-based polymer
miscible blend, which combines plant-based proteins with bio-based polymers to
give a material the functionality of proteins. Combining its Bio-Alloy
technology with a 100% renewable material — made using a feedstock of post-consumer car tires — creates Bio-VERA.
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The new leather alternative offers a high-performance product that can be
delivered to tanneries without the need for costly hide-preparation steps or
actual tanning. Tanners can apply the same finishing processes they always have
— including wet
finishing,
dry finishing, coloring, dyeing and grain correction — but without animal inputs
or many of the negative environmental impacts associated with tanning.
"The hybrid structure of our product gives it superior performance without
sacrificing the beauty and time-proven quality associated with leather," says
Jeff Smith, Modern Meadow's
GM of Biomaterials. “It also gives tanners a superior material to work with;
there is no trade-off in terms of performance, and the major environmental
impacts
are eliminated.”
To ensure Bio-VERA meets or exceeds the performance requirements of multiple
industries, Modern Meadow conducts extensive internal and external
materials-performance testing to evaluate factors such as strength, durability,
colorfastness and aging characteristics. The results have shown that Bio-VERA
performs on par with, or even surpasses, animal leather — providing a
sustainable alternative without compromising quality or performance.
Additionally, because Bio-VERA is made from feedstock sourced from post-consumer
and bio-based polymers, partners know that the material is free of virgin
plastic — reducing reliance on fossil fuels, advancing circularity of materials,
and minimizing the overall environmental impacts.
"Bio-VERA provides a path for tanneries and brands to eliminate use of toxic
chemicals like chrome used in tanning leather, while maximizing the use of
bio-based and circular materials,” said Ann
Lee-Jeffs, Senior Director of
Sustainability for Modern Meadow.
This includes an exciting new relationship with
BASF to supply high-quality, polymers
for Bio-VERA.
"This strategic collaboration will bring together the cutting-edge
biofabrication expertise of Modern Meadow with BASF's renowned Ultramid®
Cycled®
material; paving the way for the creation of many modern, sustainable and
animal-free materials — including Bio-VERA," said Modern Meadow Chief Science & Technology Officer David
Williamson.
Bio-VERA will enter markets in early 2024, with current-use cases and
partnership opportunities in the accessories, footwear and automotive
industries.
Published Jul 11, 2023 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST
Jeremy Osborn is a NYC-based entrepreneur and and senior consultant with a background in marketing and communications, tech, strategy, governance, and sustainability. He holds an MA in Resources, Environment, and Sustainability from the University of British Columbia and has worked for leading brands in a wide range of industries and sectors — including food and ag, consumer goods, built environment, industrial manufacturing, energy, finance, transportation, and more.
Sponsored Content
/ This article is sponsored by
Modern Meadow Inc.
This article, produced in cooperation with the Sustainable Brands editorial team, has been paid for by one of our sponsors.