Animal leather requires more than 17,000 liters of water per kilogram. To put an end to the hemorrhage, the Enactus-EMI club is developing a vegan leather, made from the cactus plant. This innovative project concerned with the environment should appeal to producers and could revolutionize the textile industry.
The project, called O’Cuero and currently in the prototyping phase, will be sold as raw material to furniture and automobile companies, as well as to leather goods workshops in Morocco. What is its primary interest? This vegan weather will serve as a substitute for animal leather, which is particularly polluting. “The leather textile industry is the most polluting one in the world. It not only consumes lot of water, but it also exposes workers to chemicals that are harmful to their health”, explains Salma Fakhouri, co-founder of the startup and member of the Enactus-EMI club. “Our invention responds to these issues with a leather that is biodegradable in production and consumes very little water, the cactus plant being rich in antioxidants and having minimal carbon dioxide absorption”, adds Salma, who is a 2-year student. This is a way to participate effectively in the process of sustainable development. The ‘‘vegan’’ material will be designed using the mature leaves of the cactus, without damaging the plant itself, making it an eco-responsible but also sustainable alternative. Another strong point of the product is its cost price which will allow it to be manufactured at a lower cost . ‘‘We plan to sell our leather to companies at 110 Dirhams (US$ 11 dollars) per square meter, a cost significantly lower than that of animal leather which ranges between 800 and 1,200 Dirhams (US$ 80 to 120)’’, said the student. ‘‘The selling price of a perfecto jacket is thus estimated at 645 Dirhams, taking into account the costs of processing the product and logistics’’, she adds. Almost finalized, O’Cuero should be marketed in June of this year. The product will be presented, exhibited, and sold on the web through a dedicated site, but also via social media and at textile fairs. “O’Cuero will have its own pages on the most popular media. This is therefore a way of promoting the product on a larger scale ”, underlines student Salma Fakhouri enthusiastically. Established in 2008, Enactus-EMI is made up of around sixty student members of the school and is behind numerous social projects. The entity also represents the Moroccan club that has been distinguished the most times in the NGO’s global competitions, finishing second in Beijing in 2014 and third in Johannesburg in 2015.
Karim AGOUMI
