DESSERTO - CACTUS LEATHER

Desserto is a highly sustainable plant based vegan-leather made from cactus, often distinguished by its great softness at touch while offering a great performance for a wide variety of applications and complying with the most rigorous quality and environmental standards. Our intention is to offer cruelty free, sustainable alternative, without any toxic chemicals, phthalates and PVC. The result is a partially biodegradable material that operates as a carbon-sequestration field in the growth of it’s raw materials.

A_C Official is the first brand in Australia to be working with Desserto, which only launched in October 2019 and has subsequently won numerous Design Awards. After recently being named Finalists in the LVMH Innovation Awards, the sustainable leather alternative is derived from the cactus plant ‘Nopal’ or ‘Prickly Pear’ as it’s most commonly known. Harvested from their Mexican Cactus ranch, the innovators are able to avoid soil degradation as plants are not removed from the ground and only the mature stems are used in the Textile’s Raw Materials. The plantation regrows quickly with rainwater only, taking 6-8 weeks to be ready for harvest again, before cuttings are transported to their Textile Facility to be made into the patented a bio-based Leather Alternative. 

• Grows with Rain Water (no irrigation) and Earth minerals.
• Increases Natural Biodiversity in the region
• Enrichment of Soil micro-flora & micro-fauna through native organic Cactus afforestation
• Environmental preservation with no chemicals are used in the farming process
• Byproduct is diverted to the Food Industry in increased value foods (proteins and herbal teas) 
• Stimulates the Agriculture Industry to plant more native plants, regenerating previously over-forested and foreign plantations.

SILICON LEATHER

Another incredible innovation we are working with is a PU and PVC Free Leather alternative made from Silicon. This textile's raw material is derived from Sand and is has a smooth, luxurious hand-feel. It is one of the most durable textiles we have ever worked with.

SILEATHER FACTS
• PU and PVC Free
• 100% Recyclable
• It originates from the Silica Sand family
• Silica Sand is known as “the Earth’s most abundant crust resource” 
• 9x less carbon intensive than PU.

THE PRODUCTION PROCESS
We take a long term approach when considering our production of Sileather silicon fabric. With our non-solvent production technique and by not using any PVC or PU, Sileather is much safer than traditional fabrics. Unlike PVC fabrics, there is no chlorine in any of the production processes, and it does not leak VOC emissions throughout their life.

We are also able to divert all products from landfill due to the fact Sileather is a recyclable product, complete with backing or carrier cloths made from recycled cotton-poly. Given it can be more difficult to find recycling centres that accept silicone, (which is mostly due to less familiarity with the material) we ask that you return these bags to us once they reach their end of life.

We are proudly partnering with local recycling plant EcoActiv to recycle these materials once deemed unusable anymore.

PIÑATEX

Pinatex® is a natural and sustainable non-woven textile made from the fibres of pineapple leaves, essentially a bi-product of the pineapple farming industry. It is distinguished by its unique texture and handfeel while offering a viable sustainable alternative to leather, as it is strong, durable, flexible, light and breathable, not to mention the added benefits of animal and human welfare.

Being a waste product of an existing worldwide industry, no additional land, water, fertilisers or pesticides are needed; as such, the production of the leaves has virtually no environmental impact. In fact, the production of Piñatex has quite the positive environmental impact as ‘biogas’ is produced in the production process. Therefore, both the extraction of the fibres and the production of biogas can provide additional revenue streams to pineapple farming communities. 

The developers of this innovation, Anas Ananam, are proudly a certified B Corp.

You can view the entire process via the video link below.

CELLULOSE

Our Washable Paper is FSC Certified and is produced in Europe. The manufacturer we choose to work with is OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 Certified, which is a symbol of the guarantee of textiles tested for harmful substances.
The FSC Certification provides protection against illegal use and construction in forest areas, protecting the forest resources of indigenous peoples and local communities and safeguarding the wellbeing of forest workers and rare or endangered animals.

We use Washable Paper as it is strong and viable replacement for leather and can return to Earth once it reaches its End of Life.

UPCYCLING

‘Deadstock Fabrics’ are textiles which are leftovers from previous seasons with no plan for future use. Deadstock fabrics commonly come from a fashion brand or mill’s collection where it wasn’t required as well as rejected fabrics, unable to be sold due to minor defects or design changes.

A_C intends to place no extra demand on the planet’s limited resources. As such, this ethos starts from the very sourcing of materials. We work with a Waste Management Company who intercept these discarded materials and we reuse this deadstock in our Limited Edition bags.

'ECOPRENE'

With a vision to utilise would-be waste, all A_C handbags contain recycled-polyester both in the internals of the bag providing structure and in the lining itself. A_C has partnered with a reputable Australian Textile Developer to create a Neoprene like material that is strong enough to withstand daily use yet has a luxuriously soft handfeel.
We termed this ‘Ecoprene’, as it is made up of recycled carpets, recycled waterbottles, pre-consumer off-cuts and post-consumer textile waste.
It is supported with GRS Certifications.