来源：《卫报》
原文刊登日期：2022年5月8日
Would you ever wear shoes made from “grape leather”? What about a “mushroom leather” bag? With the drive towards more sustainable fashion, the flourishing world of animal-free “alt leathers” is becoming increasingly mainstream. This week saw the launch of new sustainable trainer brand Lerins, including £130 shoes made with a leather-like material created from grape skins left over from wine-making.
你会穿葡萄皮做的鞋吗？“蘑菇皮”包怎么样？随着对可持续时尚的追求，蓬勃发展的无动物“替代皮革”正日益成为主流。本周，新的可持续运动鞋品牌Lerins上市，其中包括一些价格为130英镑的鞋，鞋的材质类似皮革，由酿酒过程中剩余的葡萄皮制成。
So-called “plant-based leather” promises great benefits for the planet. Not only is Lerins upcycling an existing waste stream, it’s also disconnecting from the cattle industry, and in doing so, avoids the issues of greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation and animal welfare.
所谓的“植物皮革”有望为地球带来巨大好处。Lerins不仅对现有的废物流进行了升级回收，还切断了与养牛业的联系，从而避免了温室气体排放、森林砍伐和动物福利等问题。
Lerins joins a growing number of brands working with plant-based leather alternatives, among them Allbirds, Hermès, Reformation and Stella McCartney.
Lerins加入了越来越多使用植物皮革作替代品的品牌，其中包括Allbirds、Hermès、Reformation和斯特拉·麦卡特尼。
“We’re at a turning point,” says the American journalist and author, Dana Thomas. “When I wrote Fashionopolis, this was in the testing phase, now it’s being rolled out commercially – it’s thrilling to see it happening.”
“我们正处于一个转折点，”美国记者兼作家达纳·托马斯说。“当我写《时尚都市》的时候，植物皮革还在测试阶段，现在它已经商业化了——看到它正变成现实，我很激动。”
In August, Stella McCartney is launching grape leather shoes and handbags, and later this year, a mushroom leather bag, made from mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms. Allbirds’ first plant leather shoes, made with vegetable oil and natural rubber, are expected “in due course”.
今年8月，斯特拉·麦卡特尼将推出葡萄皮鞋和手提包，今年晚些时候，还将推出蘑菇皮包，由蘑菇的根结构菌丝制成。Allbirds的第一款植物皮鞋，由植物油和天然橡胶制成，预计将在“适当的时候”推出。
Nicole Rawling, the CEO of the California-based charity Material Innovation Initiative, which brings together brands, scientists and investors to accelerate this next generation of animal-free materials, says last year $980m of funding was raised for fabrics that replace animal-based materials.
总部位于加州的慈善机构“材料创新倡议”的首席执行官尼科尔•罗林表示，去年为替代动物材料的面料筹集了9.8亿美元资金。该机构将品牌、科学家和投资者聚集在一起，以加速开发下一代无动物材料。
However, it’s proving hard for plant-based leather alternatives to compete with the durability of bovine leather, which is problematic if it affects a product’s lifespan. Take plant-based shoes, says Dr Laetitia Forst, postdoctoral researcher of sustainable fashion at the University of the Arts London. “Even if their initial impact is lower, if you’re having to replace them every year as opposed to every 10 years, their overall impact will be much higher.”
然而，事实证明，植物皮革替代品很难与牛皮革的耐久性竞争，如果牛皮革影响产品的寿命，就会出现问题。伦敦艺术大学可持续时装博士后研究员莱蒂夏·福斯特说，以植物鞋为例。“即使它们最初的环境影响较低，但如果你必须每年更换，而不是每10年更换一次，它们的总体影响将更高。”
The solution, so far, has been – controversially – plastic. Many of these leather alternatives use a polyurethane (PU) coating in order to improve durability.
到目前为止，解决办法是——颇有争议的——塑料。许多皮革替代品使用聚氨酯（PU）涂层，以提高耐用性。
“If you’re combining natural and synthetic materials, there will be issues at the end-of-life stage,” says Philippa Grogan of Eco-Age. “The plastics will compromise a product’s biodegradability.”
生态时代的菲利帕·格罗根说：“如果你把天然材料和合成材料结合起来，在产品生命终结阶段就会出现问题。塑料会影响产品的生物降解性。”
There is no question that the plant-based leather industry wants to crack this problem: “No one is happy to have petrochemicals in their products,” says Rawling. She is optimistic that competition will force companies to develop more sustainable solutions.
毫无疑问，植物皮革行业想要解决这个问题：“没有人愿意在他们的产品中加入石化产品，”罗林说。她乐观地认为，竞争将迫使企业开发更可持续的解决方案。