India’s vegan mango leather is here! It’s 60% cheaper than synthetic leather & degrades faster

May 9th, 2023

Did you know India produces about 20 million tonnes of mangoes every year? Though we are the largest mango growers in the world, up to 40% of the mangoes produced are discarded in fields as they do not match regulations and standards. This has led to a lot of wastage, which is now being utilised to create a sustainable vegan leather.

The Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) has come up with an innovative technology to produce animal-free leather using mango pulp. CLRI scientists have registered for a patent and licensed the technology to Mumbai-based start-up Aamati Green Pvt Ltd, which helped with the research and development. 

The new material, made from a blend of 50% mango pulp and biopolymer, is an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic leather. The material degrades much faster than polyurethane leather and its cost of manufacturing is about 60% less than the current price of synthetic leather, informed Dr. P Thanikaivelan, Chief Scientist at CLRI.

"We combined a natural material (mango pulp) with an environmentally friendly polymer to create a biodegradable leather-like material,” he explained. To create the vegan leather, the CLRI team mixed mango pulp with a biopolymer in both liquid and powder forms. They then transformed the mixture into a sheet-like material. 

The material was coated and decorated with patterns to make products like bags and laptop sleeves, which have passed durability testing. They are also working on developing the material's properties for use in footwear.

Dr. Thanikaivelan stated that the only other business that produces mango-based leather-like material is located in the Netherlands. However, with India being the largest mango grower globally, this technology has enormous potential in the country. 

They plan to collaborate with fashion labels to create eco-friendly accessories, thereby offering a sustainable option to the fashion industry.

The CLRI's technology to create leather-like material from mango pulp has the potential to revolutionise the fashion industry. It is an eco-friendly and sustainable alternative to animal leather, which takes decades to decompose. With India's vast mango production capacity and the relatively low cost of manufacturing this material, the new technology is likely to see significant uptake in the years to come.