Faux leather is taking a surprisingly "fresh" turn.

Faux leather is taking a surprisingly “fresh” turn.

If you have not heard, faux leather is surprisingly not as good for the environment as we may have hoped. In fact, it may be just as bad. The use of faux leather was supposed to be a lasting alternative to animal leather. We thought this new initiative would've been enough to rid the world of dangerous tanneries. We even saw the light at the end of the tunnel of overseas factories with inhumane conditions and long-term effects on their workers for a brief moment, but we were wrong. Based on recent studies, this cow-friendly initiative is said to take up to 500 years to break down.

Additionally, like many garments regularly manufactured, they release toxic chemicals and cause irreversible damage to our ozone layer as they begin to break down. Yikes. Because of this, consumers and manufacturers have been switching back to traditional leathers and materials, as the news is that faux leather no longer holds as much weight on the green-fashion scene.

But here's some refreshingly good news. Italian-based brand, Mat & Nat, is changing the game in bio-based leather by manufacturing a different kind of leather—Fruit waste.

APPLESKIN is what they're calling their chic vegan tote bag made from a high content of apple waste. Up to 40% of fruit harvest is wasted every year, and this initiative can bring jobs and income for farmers while saving this waste from emitting CO2 carbons into our air. Combining the fumes saved by recycling this unused fruit and replacing the non-recyclable faux leather, a lot of chemicals are not ending up in our air.

And they're not the only ones. Hand fulls of global brands are using the waste from mangos, pineapples, grapes, and even olives, which I was surprised to find out was even a fruit. So, if you're a shopper like me, you can ease your sustainable shopper's anxiety for a moment. Bio-based luxury brands are officially in-season. Check out brands like Vegea, Oleatex, Malai, and Fruitleather for their already on-the-market brands that are taking advantage of fruit waste, and check with your local farms or Farmer's markets that may need an alternative for their fruit waste.