The leather industry, a global multi-billion dollar business, requires large numbers of bovine animals to sustain production each year, often with severe environmental repercussions like water and land overuse, deforestation, environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Researchers at the Tufts University School of Engineering in Medford, Massachusetts, have developed a silk-based leather, according to a study published in the journal Materials & Design. The scientists broke down the fibers from silkworm cocoons into their protein components and re-purposed the proteins to form a leather-like, biodegradable material. The new silk-based leather material is said to have similar physical properties to real leather – soft, pliable and durable like natural leather. It can also be printed into different patterns and textures. In addition to being derived from dissolving silk fibers, the manufacturing process for the new material is water-based, using only mild chemicals and producing mostly non-toxic waste, researchers have explained.

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