Leather Produced from Kombucha Tea

Leather Produced from Kombucha Tea Students focused on the plastic consumption and waste problems affecting Turkey and the world produced leather from tea this year to draw attention to fast fashion. Students from Bilfen High School in Izmir, who participated in the competition held annually under the name "GençBizz," made it into the top 20 and secured a place in the final. The students will compete to represent Turkey in Europe. Recognizing that "Bio Fashion," a new fashion concept in which bacteria are primarily used in the production of textile materials for making high-quality garments, has many advantages compared to companies working with other organic textile raw materials, the students realized they could produce unlimited quantities of leather with sufficient time, low cost and minimal resources. Thus they began producing vegan leather—an alternative to animal-based leather that is completely environmentally friendly and cheaper to produce than conventional leathers. For this, they created a biomaterial resulting from a combination of bacterial and yeast cultures. This culture, which is the main ingredient of fermented kombucha tea already used for health benefits, undergoes a chemical process that occurs when kombucha tea meets with bacteria and yeast. The gel-like layer that accumulates on the top of the liquid is harvested when it is time, dried, and made ready for use. As biomaterial use in textiles becomes increasingly popular in the near term, it is beginning to reduce the need for non-recyclable, harmful substances like plastic. With this biomaterial, they are moving closer to making their dreams of a better and more sustainable world a reality.