Did you know that you can make synthetic leather from tea? Yes, it’s true! Meet WASTEA, a vegan, plant-based material developed by the company SCAYS that is 100% made from tea waste.
Turkey, where WASTEA comes from, is the fourth largest producer of tea in the world, which means that there are plenty of leftovers of this raw material and, due to the high levels of caffeine in tea, there weren’t many alternatives for giving this waste a second life. In other words, most of it was sent to landfill or incinerated.
Seeing this scenario, SCAYS has developed a processing method to turn this waste into an alternative to leather of animal origin and, as the tea is grown without pesticides and at high altitudes (no additional water is needed), this process has practically no impact on the environment.
How it’s made
Now the big question: how is this material made?
1st – Tea production
Tea plants grow in cold, high-altitude locations. Once they have been picked, they move on to the production stage.
2nd – Collection of dry waste
Used tea waste is collected and recycled.
3rd – Waste processing
The waste that has been collected is now processed into leather.
4th – Addition of SACAY-U and BIO-PU
Scay-U and Bio-Based polyurethane are now added to the waste.
5th – Coating
The lamination and coating processes are now carried out.
6th – Finishing
The final stage is finishing, testing and quality control.
Properties
Wastea has numerous qualities in addition to being environmentally friendly, such as:
– It has no colour limitations (you can make this material in any colour);
– It can be engraved in any way (embossed, printed, laser or embroidered);
– It is antibacterial, water and heat resistant;
– It can be natural or recycled (you can choose between natural or recycled fibers);
– Different types of thickness (which is great for footwear).
Some certifications
PETA
V-Label
OEKO-TEX
For more information, contact us to see the original catalog!
geral@shoelutions.pt