Water-resistant leather alternative using coconut water

Zuzana Gombosova & Susmith C Suseelan

Founder of Kerala startup that makes water-resistant leather alternative using coconut water.

A Kerala-based company, Malai Biomaterials Design Pvt Ltd, makes this possible, by producing a bio-composite material from coconut water that can be a worthy equivalent of leather.

Explaining the workings of this vegan and environment-friendly innovation, co-founder Zuzana says, “This flexible biocomposite material has a circular life cycle. We use raw materials like waste coconut, banana stem, sisal fibre and hemp fibre that do not require any energy or chemicals. The final product is biodegradable that can decompose within 150 days. And, the best thing is that we ensure zero use of any aggressive chemicals in the whole process.”

While Zuzana is a Slovakia-origin designer based in India, Susmith is a mechanical engineer specialising in product designing. Their shared passion for sustainable fashion inspired them to create this innovation, which can make various products like belts, bags, wallets, etc.

Not just the look and feel, Malai Biomaterials has ensured that their innovation is durable enough to be compared with conventional leather, and so have managed to get tested and certified by the German company-TUV based in Chennai.