A vegan-leather alternative made from single-use plastic?

When it comes to plastic, our planet is drowning in it. It is a shocking statistic that over 8.5 million tons of plastic is produced every single year, so it is no surprise that the plastic pandemic is one of the biggest plagues our planet faces.

Though many are dedicated to recycling household plastic, some may be shocked to discover that only 9% of plastic is recycled, 12% is incinerated and the remaining 79% makes its way to landfills where it takes up to 500 years to break down and decompose.

The fashion and design industry are responsible for many negative environmental impacts, with fashion production making up 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions. It also dries up water sources, pollutes rivers and streams. And what’s even more shocking is that, after the damage has been caused, 85% of all textiles end up being dumped each year.

The fashion and design industry holds the power to be the force of change this world needs, and they have the platform at their feet to influence the rest of the world. Innovative materials, such as Remeant for example, are joining the rise in brands offering sustainable products. After all, new materials are the engine of growth, and responding to market needs will make textiles like Remeant the new go-to.

Many brands are adopting sustainable practises when it comes to fashion, from creating plant-based fabrics from fruit to repurposing plastic bottles into sustainable fabrics. But considering plastic bags and bubble wrap are non-biodegradable materials, it raises the question: what can be done to reduce the vast amounts of single-use plastic that already exist? 

Remeant is bridging the gap between the fashion and design industry, enabling plastic to have a second life. Giving plastic waste a new purpose by reusing and upcycling the unwanted plastic into fashionable, colourful, and high-quality textiles, you’re voting for a better world at the same time.

Who is Remeant?

REMEANT is an innovative textile company from Tel Aviv, Israel, that is offering a stylish solution to this worldwide plastic pandemic that our globe faces. Hoping to increase the lifespan of single-use plastics, REMEANT’s founder Elinor Nathaniel, a textile designer who has spent years developing the company’s cutting-edge technology for the first time that takes non-biodegradable waste and transforms it into high-quality eco-friendly fabrics for vegan leather alternatives.

Industrial packaging waste is collected from factories and private consumers before it’s taken to a processing plant. Here the production process starts by turning the plastic into a fabric.

Using materials such as bubble wrap, which are mostly transparent, Remeant has developed the only way to colour these existing materials after production, turning them into colourful textiles that are of a high-quality, perfect to use in fashion products.

Many think the textures on Remeant Textiles are printed on. Yet, using items such as bubble wrap and aluminium lends the fabrics their unique appearance, offering a variety of shades to consumers.

Remeant isn’t exclusive to one type of plastic and has multiple options when it comes to choosing a textile. Designers are given complete creative control when it comes to the process of choosing their textile, as they can select the colour and texture they’re seeking, being involved in the design process from start to finish.

Using a plastic textile for fashion accessories and homeware is a great way to use recycled plastic, since it’s not washed regularly. Many vegan brands use recycled plastic in their clothing and while this is a great way to reuse plastic, clothing needs to be washed regularly, which can result in small plastic particles being washed back into our oceans.

Remeant won’t need to be washed in the same way. The textile can be wiped clean easily, which will reduce your water footprint and save electricity.

Benefits of turning plastic into textiles

When it comes to sustainable clothing and accessories, textiles such as bamboo or hemp have been popular due to their eco-friendly nature. But studies have shown that clothes made from plastic waste can greatly help to reduce carbon emissions making it useful to the environment.

Since the materials Remeant uses have already been made, there is a reduction in processing since raw materials are not needed to be made from scratch. It is much more complicated only to reuse the material itself, instead of shredding and recycling it, and it saves a lot of energy! To add to this, Remeant using industrial packaging plastic from factories helps reduce the volume of plastic placed through alternative recycling processes.

When we think of plastic, we tend to envision it as a hard and solid material. Since it is used in so many ways in everyday life, it is durable, flexible and often tough. Yet when it comes to Remeant textiles, there is no real difference between the feel or the quality of Remeant than other sustainable fabrics. In fact, Remeant has the look and feel of premium fabrics and even the look of leather.

What are REMEANT textiles used for?

When it comes to Remeant’s sustainable fashion and textiles, there are lots of reasons to love them. Not only are they pioneers in the sustainable fashion market, but their fabrics are also waterproof, washable, highly durable and lightweight, too, making it the perfect fabric to use to create a multitude of fashionable products.

From clothing, bags, shoes, accessories and even home décor, the outstanding material offers the look and feel of conventional leather, minus the cruelty, and provides you with the raw materials you need to create the next generation of eye-catching products.

What makes REMEANT unique?

Mirroring characteristics that can be found in premium fabrics, Remeant’s sustainable fashion and textiles innovation are available in a range of adventurous textures. From the brand’s innovative bubble wrap fabric to their upcycled aluminium, Remeant is 100% vegan and a perfect choice for sustainable fashion brands seeking a textile to set them apart from the crowd.

Not to mention their textiles offer diversity thanks to the manufacturing process which leaves the fabric with a unique appearance each time. From the marble effect of the bubble wrap to the leather-like appearance of their upcycled aluminium, each fabric is shiny and elegant.

Vegan fashion has come a long way in recent years, and it’s hard to believe some textiles are not made from animal by-products, especially when you see Remeant’s products. But the bubbled effect almost mimics crocodile leather, but instead of killing innocent animals, the sustainable leather can be made from packaging plastic you’d toss into the bin.