Synthetic alternatives to leather are often marketed as ‘bio-based’ in order to lead consumers into believing they are making the best choice for the environment. How do these materials stack up to bio-circular Ecotan leather in terms of their true natural carbon content?

How organic carbon helps reduce emissions

Under the principles of the bio-economy, products which derive from renewable biological resources contribute to an immediate reduction in carbon emissions. Once released into the atmosphere, it simply returns the amount of carbon initially taken on loan, ultimately resulting in net-zero emissions. On top of this, ‘bio-based’ materials are also better suited for meeting the needs of the circular economy since usually they display better biodegradability and can be disposed of, unless on rare exceptions, without generating micro-plastics.
Gustavo Defeo, CEO of Ars Tinctoria, a specialised research and analysis laboratory based in Santa Croce sull’Arno (Italy), states: “In order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 as imagined by the EU’s Green Deal, we must not release additional fossil-based carbon into the biosphere. This means choosing renewable energy and materials over petrol derivatives”.

For this reason, Ars Tinctoria has been collaborating with CNR-INO (National Institute of Optics) to develop a test method based on SCAR (Saturated-absorption CAvity Ring-down), an innovative spectroscopic test that can quantify the levels of natural carbon found in materials. “This test allows us to measure the amount of carbon that has been transformed by cosmic radiation into Carbon 14 (14C). This form of carbon, which is found in all forms of living beings, is released naturally in the atmosphere and can be differentiated from petrol derivatives”, states Defeo. “In other words, we can measure the circularity of a material”.