Mira Nameth became seriously interested in sustainability after the birth of her daughter Nora. She was motivated by the prevalence of problematic chemicals in our everyday objects and surroundings and the responsibility we share for our children’s future.
In 2018, Nameth walked down Kensington High Street. While picking up a piece of green waste, she had the idea of creating a material based on green waste.
She started developing a leaf-based material that went on to become Treekind® - a plastic-free leather alternative, which is free of PU and rubber, in comparison to many other leather alternatives. It is made with lignocellulosic feedstocks from urban parks and gardens and inedible agricultural feedstock.
Treekind® is compostable and non-toxic. It has passed the home composting test ISO 14855-1.
Treekind’s production uses less than 0.1% of the water in equivalent to leather processing and has a very low carbon footprint.
Treekind® has undergone a large number of ISO tests for leather goods with excellent results.
Treekind® is PETA approved and currently in the process of becoming USDA certified as 100% biobased.
FAQs
WHAT IS BIOPHILICA?
Biophilica, founded in 2019, is the company behind Treekind®. We are a talented team with decades of scientific, design, strategy, and operations experience.
HOW DO I CONTACT BIOPHILICA?
Please email us at hello@biophilica.co.uk
We are a very busy startup but will do our best to answer promptly and appreciate your patience.
WHAT IS TREEKIND®?
A flexible, leather-like material, made from urban plant waste, agricultural waste and forestry waste. We combine lignocellulosic feedstock with a natural binder. Treekind® is local, fully biodegradable, and recyclable. It uses less than 0.1% of the water in equivalent conventioanl leather production and is estimated to have a very low resource footprint.
HOW DOES TREEKIND® COMPARE TO OTHER LEATHER ALTERNATIVES?
Treekind has been ranked the #2 leather alternative in the world by Ecocult.
HAS TREEKIND® BEEN ISO TESTED?
Yes, Treekind® has gone through over 100 ISO tests for leather goods with good results for tensile, elongation, flex, double edge tear, water spotting, UV, color fastness, and chemical analyses.
Treekind® has been tested repeatedly in mechanical and surface ISO tests.
DOES TREEKIND® HAVE A LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS
Yes, Treekind® has been assessed in an scoping LCA by Bangor University.
WHAT TYPES OF COLOURS CAN TREEKIND® BE MADE WITH?
WHAT KIND OF PIGMENTS ARE USED?
The materials have various natural colours that are retained in some samples. We also use plant pigments as well as non-toxic natural pigments.
IS TREEKIND® VEGAN?
Treekind is PETA vegan certified. There are zero animal-derived substances used in the making of the materials.
IS TREEKIND® WATERPROOF?
Like wood, it is not entirely waterproof, but like wood, it can be made water resistant/repellant.
HOW LONG DOES TREEKIND® TAKE TO BIODEGRADE?
Water droplets will not start the biodegradation of Treekind®. Treekind breaks down in compost with the help of microbed. Treekind® has passed the test for home composting (ISO 14855).
WHAT SURFACE TREATMENTS ARE POSSIBLE?
Treekind® can be plain or embossed and many colours are possible as are different thicknesses (between 0.6-1.6 mm).
CAN TREEKIND® BE RECYCLED INTO NEW MATERIAL?
Yes, Treekind® has been recycled into new material with good testing results.
DOES TREEKIND® CONTAIN ANY PLASTIC, PHTHALATES, PFAs, SYNTHETIC DYES OR HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS?
No, our full ISO chemical analysis demonstrates that these substances are not present in Treekind®. In addition, no formaldehyde, VOCs, nor pesticides were detected.
