Could cactus plants fashion the leather of the future? For handbag designer Tessa Carroll, it’s the ideal eco-friendly alternative to animal hides and their petroleum-based counterpart, commonly known as ‘pleather’. Carroll works with innovators in Mexico who have fabricated a textile, called Desserto, out of the Nopal cactus. This prickly pear absorbs more carbon dioxide than it creates, and regrows between six to eight weeks of harvesting. Carroll transforms this material into handbags under her brand, A_C Official. Thanks to the biodegradable substance they’re made of, these accessories can return to the Earth as easily as they’re created. Visit ac-official.com to discover more of Carroll’s sustainable masterpieces. Footage by Desserto, Soyvelarde, and A_C Official was used in the creation of this film.
Up Next in Season 2
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Daan Roosegaarde
Light pollution is one of the most underestimated environmental problems. It disturbs people’s sleep cycles and endangers nocturnal animals by confusing their natural pathways. Dutch artist and architect Daan Roosegaarde is a pioneer in the efforts to reduce artificial light. His installation alo...
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Basith Mohamed
There’s a silent killer threatening the existence of whale sharks - plastic pollution. Whale sharks are filter feeders who cannot chew their food, and instead strain small fish from the 6 000 litres of water they consume every hour. In the process, they can ingest over 100 pieces of plastic every...
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Ryan Mario Yasin
Children grow rapidly, especially in their first two years of life. This leads to an increased demand for clothing, which puts enormous strain on the environment during production. Toxic textile waste is dumped in rivers, while resource-intensive materials result in the fashion industry using ove...
