Cacti Clothing? It’s a Thing
Image Courtesy: Green Matters
Persisting for over a century, leather products have occupied many of our wardrobes for a long, long time. I mean, seriously, I can almost guarantee that you will find at least one product sourced from this material if you check your closet right now. However, a recent study from Mordor Intelligence revealed that the demand for such premium products had increased significantly over the past two years due to the booming fashion industry and influential brands such as Gucci, Versace, and Louis Vuitton. So, in other words, although leather has always been in, it’s in… again.
Although, is this necessarily a good thing? Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a classic leather jacket, but how much do we really know about these products? Well, for the most part, not enough. Unfortunately, the leather market has proven quite unethical. This global industry slaughters over a billion animals a year, utilizes a massive amount of dangerous minerals, produces an enormous amount of hazardous waste, and exposes workers to lethal, cancer-causing carcinogenic chemicals. Fortunately, recent developments in alternative leather have given way to more sustainable, ethical means of production.
Image Courtesy: Nörd Republic
Meet Desserto, “the world's first highly sustainable and environmentally friendly organic material made of Nopal cactus, also known as the prickly pear.” Founded in Mexico by Adrián López Velarde and Marte Cázarez, Desserto has quickly become one of the fashion industry’s new luxury favorites. After two years of working in the furniture, automotive, and fashion industries, Adrián and Marte finally decided they could no longer overlook the surmounting issue that leather production imposed on the environment. Therefore, the duo decided to leave their jobs and begin development in Nopal (cactus) leather. Researching and developing their product for roughly two years, Desserto was first debuted in Milan, Italy, in October 2019.
Image Courtesy: Desserto
Produced in various colors, thicknesses, and textures, Nopal leather is biodegradable, cruelty-free, sustainable, and, yes, derived from cactus. Grown on a ranch in Zacatecas, Mexico, Desserto’s Nopal material is harvested every six to eight months and is sustained by rainwater instead of irrigation. Characterized by its softness at the touch, the founders assert that “not only does it handle really well but the level of break in the material is excellent, the substance is correct and it also has a degree of roundness and spring which you would normally only find in leather where the collagen acts in this way.” Collaborating with brands such as Karl Lagerfeld, Adidas, and Fossil, Nopal is extensively comparable to animal or synthetic leather due to its sustainability, performance, and overall aesthetics.
Image Courtesy: Desserto
Desserto produces many Nopal fashion pieces such as handbags, footwear, and apparel, but the material also maintains a wide variety of applications. For instance, Desserto meets all the technical specifications required by leather goods, luxury packing, and furniture industries. However, perhaps most interesting is Desserto’s sub-brand, Desserttex, an exclusive automotive material that aims to provide premium brands, such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW, highly sustainable Nopal that performs to the automobile industry standards. Thus, this brand does it all from boxing gloves, couches, and cars.
Image Courtesy: Desserto
Awarded by PETA, Architectural Digest, the USDA, Samsung, and the Global Fashion Agenda for its sustainability and positive environmental impact, cactus leather is certainly shaping up to be your new closet (automotive, interior, and sporting) staple.
Image Courtesy: Desserto
Strike Out,
Gracie Wipfli
Boca Raton
Gracie Wipfli is a Senior Editor for Strike Magazine, passionate about uniquely communicating with the world through writing. She is a woman of many words... in composition. You can reach her at graciewipfli@gmail.com
