The innovative Silvateam project made its official debut at ACLE in Shanghai and generated enthusiasm to an unexpected level, paving the way for a new era of sustainable, high-quality leather production.

A revolutionary innovation in the field of natural and eco-friendly leather production rocked the scene at the ACLE trade fair in Shanghai, attracting the attention of everyone present. Ecotan, presented for the first time at this prestigious event, ignited a fire of debate and sparked widespread enthusiasm. The Ecotan project represents a real breakthrough in the leather tanning sector, putting sustainability and environmental protection at the centre. Using state-of-the-art technology and natural, bio-circular tanning agents, this bold project offers an innovative metal-free solution to the environmental problems of chromium pollution that have plagued the leather industry for too long. As soon as the Ecotan technology was presented in the ACLE conference room, a great debate was started among industry experts who saw this technology as a potential catalyst for change. The energy and enthusiasm that pervaded the press conference clearly demonstrated the growing importance of environmental sustainability in the field of leather also in Asia, sparking widespread interest and prompting insiders to consider new ways of producing and using leathers.

Ecotan is more than just a green chemistry. It marks the beginning of a new era, in which beauty and fashion are combined with environmental responsibility that becomes the “purpose” of the company. It is an invitation to challenge old practices and embrace change towards a future to be reimagined. The presentation of Ecotan at the All China Leather Exhibition marked an epic moment. It shook the foundations of the Chinese tanning industry, raised important questions and inspired a new vision of the future of the sector, demonstrating that it is possible to combine innovation with sustainability, initiating a revolution that will spread throughout the industry, forever changing the face of fashion and ecology in Asia, as Alessandra Taccon, Ecotan Project Director at Silvateam, tells us live from the event.

“Our Ecotan project has also officially entered China, an area of the world that has been looking at technological innovations with fresh eyes for some time now. We have been working on developing this initiative in the Asian region for about a year. Our first two Chinese partners are Argonaut and Zheng Long tanneries from Foshan, and today we are here at the World Trade Centre in Shanghai to participate in the conference, at the direct invitation of Deborah Taylor, Managing Director of the Sustainable Leather Foundation (SLF), in order to present the idea of a transition to sustainable and environmentally friendly technology. During the conference, we illustrated three fundamental points. First of all, we discussed about the natural component of our formulation, which consists of the enhancing of a biological material, leather, with tannins from renewable sources. This concept places the importance of the origin of the materials at its core, in line with recent European regulatory developments. In particular, we focus on PEFC certified renewable sources, which comply with the new European “Deforestation Free” regulatory parameters that came into force in June 2023 with a global impact on leather.

Secondly, we have addressed the issue of “green chemistry” and its advantages. Apart from the natural base, within our formulations there are no toxic or potentially dangerous substances for humans or the environment. Moreover, as far as safety is concerned, in 2023 we joined the SLF initiative of 100% PFAS-free production (Forever Chemicals) and were ZDHC level 3 certified. In addition, we are committed to using completely metal-free technology with a low bisphenol content (target <200ppm), in some formulations reduced to zero. We have emphasized how environmentally friendly chemistry enhances the excellence of the leather even further by enabling optimal performance. Contrary to the claims of some critics, we are proving with facts that our technologies in Silvateam not only maintain, but improve the performance of the material.”