You’ve probably heard the term kombucha being tossed around lately. The mysterious drink is popping up more and more in health stores and trendy cafes.<\/p>\n
But this only touches the surface.<\/p>\n
A team of scientists, designers and fashion students in Queensland have developed a program that grows ‘vegan leather’ from kombucha tea.<\/p>\n
The possibility of a locally-made leather substitute is exciting. Whether it can be commercialised is another question.<\/p>\n
“We set out to explore the materiality of kombucha — what worked, what didn’t and what could be possible,” Alice Payne, Lecturer in Fashion at the Queensland University of Technology, told The Huffington Post Australia.<\/p>\n
To this.<\/p>\n
Whilst most people drink kombucha, the culture can also be combined with yeast to then be stretched and dried. The end result? ‘Vegan leather’ — a concept first pioneered by London designer Suzanne Lee in 2003.<\/p>\n
In 2014, the Queensland university formed a collaboration with scientist Dr Peter Musk, who heads Australia’s only kombucha bio-textile research program at makerspace The Edge.<\/p>\n
“Together, we enlisted our first year fashion students to have a go at growing, dying and fabricating the material,” Payne said.<\/p>\n
“The beauty of kombucha is that anyone can grow it in their home. You can harvest it whenever you’re ready, and then you have a piece of material that you can work with.”
\nWhat’s the process?<\/p>\n
It all starts with what’s called a scoby.<\/p>\n
“It’s like a sourdough starter and it is a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. That goes into sweet green tea,” Payne explained. “The bacteria feeds on that and the waste product that it produces is a pellicle that floats on the surface.”<\/p>\n
The fizzy, fermented drink is set aside and it becomes all about the pellicle.<\/p>\n
“As you dry it, it stays the same size of the container that it grows in but it flattens and grows thicker and thicker.”<\/p>\n
“You can end up with different weights and thicknesses depending on when you harvest it. The soft, flexible, supple pieces form leather,” Payne said.<\/p>\n
“We’ve worked on oils to make these less sticky and more durable.”
\nWhy kombucha?<\/p>\n
According to Payne, kombucha has an “unexpected quality”.<\/p>\n
“We’re used to paper, fabrics and conventional leather. But this falls somewhere in between. You find yourself adopting similar techniques and new ones,” Payne said.<\/p>\n
The material offers durability, versatility and sustainability.<\/p>\n
Given the big picture challenges we’re facing in terms of resource scarcity and huge supply chains, this is a really interesting area.<\/p>\n
“The beauty of it is the fact that it can be grown locally at a low cost,” Payne said.<\/p>\n
“Whilst other natural fibres like wool and cotton can be composted too, they all contain dyes and finishers that are not safely biodegradable. Kombucha in its undyed form can be a completely close-loop material.”<\/p>\n
Moving forward<\/p>\n
“Given the big picture challenges we’re facing in terms of resource scarcity and huge supply chains, this is a really interesting area,” Payne said.<\/p>\n
Whilst her team will continue to evolve their project on a small scale, she believes there is large-scale potential.<\/p>\n
“The possibility of a locally-made leather substitute is exciting. Whether it can be commercialised is another question.<\/p>\n
“We see the beauty of this in its democratic nature — how it is grown and shared. It’s tinkering in communities and we’ll see where it ends up.”<\/p>\n
Want to know more? Here’s everything you need to know about kombucha.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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