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Rayohide: Synthetic leather from waste materials.
Garage Inventor creates leather-like material from waste cotton and shares recipe.
There is no “Away” to throw things. There never was. In much of the wealthy western world, raw materials become products that are then discarded and end up in landfills. The byproducts of industry were traditionally just set aside, frequently in incredible mountains of mine tailings, or lagoons of refinery waste. Land was cheap, and regulation was minimal. But slowly the idea of Valorization (or Valorsation if you you’re outside the US) is becoming the norm. That waste stream contains opportunities for new products, new ideas, new industries in circular economies where the waste stream of one industry can feed directly into a new industry.
Cotton clothing recycling is a huge industry that’s having problems lately. Just as supply chains were disrupted in the wake of COVID, and the subsequent start of the Ukraine war, cotton recycling has hit dire straights. Literal mountains of this material sit around the world. This tough natural polymer can be turned into more than just “more clothing”. Opportunities abound.
I’m a garage inventor, following my curiosity to see what I can build. Sometimes these threads of curiosity have a purpose, sometimes I’m just exploring some weird Blue Stuff I discovered while poking at something else…
