Desserto - Leather from Cactus

The leather industry is one of the most successful industries. But leather making requires a lot of toxic chemicals and animal products thus making it problematic. Both the environmentalists and activists for animal rights, oppose it. Recently, two Mexican entrepreneurs created cactus ‘leather’ that is both eco-friendly and feels like real leather!

Marte Cázarez and Adrián López Velarde have come with an innovative method of making vegan leather using cactus plants. They look utterly realistic as if made from real leather! They have named their product Desserto which is made of cacti from Zacatecas’ plantation. These cacti have a very thick and rugged skin. This gives it a real leather-like feel and look.

The idea of using this raw material was conceived because this plant does not need any water to grow, and there is plenty of it throughout the Mexican Republic.

The method to make it is pretty simple. It starts with cutting the mature leaves from the organic cactus plants. Then they go through cleaning after which they are mashed. This mash is left in the sunlight for 3 days before processing. This certified vegan cactus leather can be used for up to 10 years!

Photo credits: DESSERTO