While Leatherworld Paris, a trade show dedicated to the leather industry, opens on Monday, Raphaëlle Duchemin received in "La France Bouge" three entrepreneurs who work with new materials, such as fish and cork. Combining ethics with creativity to offer new original and environmentally friendly products, especially in leather goods, this is the project of these three craftsmen. They tell how they shake up the leather and leather goods industry at the microphone of Europe 1.

A mushroom wallet, a cork handbag, or even a fish leather watch ... So many products created by young French companies, determined to revolutionize the tanning trades. On the occasion of the opening Monday of Leatherworld Paris, a trade show dedicated to the leather industry at Le Bourget, Raphaëlle Duchemin welcomes three French entrepreneurs who are innovating in this field to La France Bouge. With the rise of veganism and environmental concerns, new materials are developing and establishing themselves on the market.

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50,000 tonnes of fish skin discarded each year

If the word leather can only be used when it comes to animal skin, this is the case for Ictyos products. But in this start-up, no cowhide or other terrestrial mammal. It is actually marine leather! This company, born after a dinner with friends in the restaurant, transforms fish skins into leather. "We realized that fish skins were systematically thrown in the trash by restaurants. In France, 50,000 tonnes of skin are thrown away each year," explains Benjamin Malatrait, co-founder of Ictyos.

Skins collected in restaurants

"The day after the restaurant where we made this observation, we went to recover a fish skin in a sushi restaurant, and tree bark in the forest. We used an old tanning process, and two months later we had a first result: fish skin can be transformed into leather! "recalls Benjamin Malatrait. After months of research and a fundraiser, the founders of Ictyos make leather for salmon, carp and sturgeon. And all the skins are collected in restaurants, to promote the circular economy and limit the ecological impact. "The idea is to use materials in an intelligent and creative way. Fish offers a great diversity: each process and therefore each leather is different depending on the species", specifies Benjamin Malatrait.

And it is with respect for animal welfare that two other women entrepreneurs explore new tanning techniques, using plant materials. If we cannot speak of their products as leather, they are gradually establishing themselves in the leather goods sector, coming to compete with traditional leather.

Fennel or mango work

Paola Borde has set up her brand of vegetable leather goods. For this, she had to develop many techniques, to work with fennel, pineapple, mushroom, or even mango. "It's truly a passion," explains Paola Borde, who is the first in France to offer vegetable art leather goods. For her part, Magali Rotllan creates leather goods from cork. Two original initiatives that respect the environment. Paola Borde's products are entirely handmade in France, from products of natural origin. "The vegetable materials are fine, and in leather goods it takes a certain thickness. But I don't want to cheat, I use the material itself, I superimpose the layers, before sewing them and applying the finishing dye ", she explains.

Cork, "flexible and robust"

In the same way as when we think of fruits and plants, cork refers more to champagne corks than to handbags. A material "both flexible and robust" for Magali Rotllan who uses it to produce handbags, belts or purses. "I use a cork produced and colored in a factory in Portugal", explains the young woman, a graduate of a CAP in leather goods. When she became pregnant, she wanted to recover after having completely abandoned this activity, which had become a passion. "I first worked with real leather, but it didn't suit me," says the entrepreneur. "I completely fell for cork, on all aspects, especially ecological," she concludes.

Annual turnover of 25 billion euros

France is the fourth largest leather exporting country in the world, with seven million tonnes of leather produced each year. The sector represents 94,000 companies and 130,000 employees, for an annual turnover of 25 billion euros. An industry that is doing well, and which seems to have a bright future, as evidenced by these innovative entrepreneurs. A first investment fund was launched last summer: five million euros released to support young leather workers, innovative initiatives and new manufacturing processes. And on this creativity also depends the future of the luxury giants in the years to come.

New processes that Paola Borde hopes to democratize. Her dream: "to create a new discipline. What I want is that young people can learn to work with plant materials, that there is a diploma!", Assures the young designer.