Alejandro Moreno patented a method to industrially produce this innovative textile, made only with native plant materials such as fique fibers and rubber latex.
although of the vegan leather It has been talked regarding for years as a more sustainable alternative for the textile industry, eager to demonstrate its environmental commitment, but it still seems like a chimera in terms of its practical utility, resistance, costs and production facilities.
However, following listening to and meeting Alejandro Moreno, a textile engineer from Antioquia, founder and manager of the Fiquetex firm, the problems that made the vegan leather As a material suitable for industrial use, they seem to have passed tests. Evidence of this would be given by two milestones.
The first is an award received from the british oxford universityprecisely two years ago, in March 2021. Second, the fact that Inexmoda has invited Fiztex and his vegan leather to be part of its library of innovative materials, with a stand during the last Colombiatex in January.
“We have installed capacity to process 4,000 tons of fique per year in our factory, in Itagüí.”
At that same fair, Moreno participated in several talks on sustainability in the textile industry, in which he presented his challenging vision of this concept, so in vogue within the general objectives of the sector. “Everyone talks regarding the circular economy, but in what is done, I personally see several problems.”
Question, for example, the recovery of plastic for new fabrics. “If it is done with PET bottles, there are many logistical, energy and water costs to use a maximum of 30% in each new fabric; you need to combine that with 70% virgin plastic.”
He vegan leather de Moreno would be, on the other hand, a true sustainable alternative. “There are sneakers from multinational brands that are promoted as 40% sustainable; I, in Colombiatex, presented shoes 100% free of plastics and animals”.
innovative details
Alejandro Moreno lived 31 years in Great Britain, where he trained as a textile engineer, becoming part of the Royal Academy of Engineering. He recently returned to the country to industrially develop this vegan leather, one of his six registered patents in Colombia and England. “Our product can be used in leather goods, the automotive industry, furniture, decoration, etc. We are the only ones capable of producing it in 2 meter wide rolls; seven times cheaper than bovine leather”.
