Chances are you’ve owned a pair of leather shoes, but have you ever stopped to consider their—excuse the pun—footprint?

As we all know, leather comes from cows and cows contribute to climate change through their burps and farts and the deforestation that often occurs to give them land to live on.

If that’s not enough, the tanning process causes damage too, using chemicals with nasty names like chromium and aldehyde which, in many parts of the world end up in the soil and rivers, which then leach into the food system and yes, into us.

Alt.Leather founder Tina Funder is on a mission to change all this by creating a whole new kind of leather from nothing but plant materials.

In this episode she gives us the inside story on:

👜 How a humble handbag brand sparked the idea for a whole new material

🔬 The deep-tech innovation process, from tubs in the garage to a fully functional scientific lab

🤝 Why finding your customers before you even have the product is a great way of creating product-market fit

😬 How putting yourself out there before you feel ready is a great way to speed up the process

💰 Three things to look for in an investor

👶 The importance of finding time for family in a world of infinite to-do lists


Want to know more? Here's what AI had to say after we gave it a listen...

What if the leather in your shoes, handbags, and car seats could be made without harming animals or the planet? Tina Funder, founder of Alt Leather, has created exactly that – a 100% plant-based leather alternative that's turning heads from Australian retailers to Paris Fashion Week.

The journey began when Tina discovered the dark side of both traditional and "vegan" leather options. Animal agriculture contributes 14.5% of global emissions while occupying over half the Earth's land surface. The tanning process uses toxic chemicals that poison waterways and harm workers. Meanwhile, so-called "vegan leathers" are typically just petroleum-based plastics with clever marketing. Searching for genuine solutions, Tina began experimenting in a garage with a leather application specialist, creating prototypes that initially "looked like scrambled eggs."

After relocating to CoLab (the "WeWork of biotech") and eventually Monash University, the Alt Leather team developed a revolutionary material incorporating wine industry waste. Their vision extends beyond simply replacing leather – they aim to transform manufacturing itself. While animal hides have irregular shapes causing up to 60% cutting floor waste, Alt Leather will be produced in continuous rolls and eventually molded directly into product shapes, eliminating waste entirely.

The business has gained powerful supporters, including Tesla chair Robin Denham's family office and $1.15 million in government funding. Alt Leather recently debuted at Paris Fashion Week, signed its first commercial partnership with a luxury winemaker, and is preparing for a seed funding round to build their pilot manufacturing facility.

Curious about sustainable fashion's future? Follow Alt Leather's remarkable story at alt-leather.com or @alt.leather_ on Instagram. Within a year, you might be walking in shoes that look and feel like premium leather – but leave a dramatically smaller footprint on our planet.

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