No more leather? Sustainability for the car seat too!

The new federal government wants more sustainability also in the auto industry worries, and some of them have already understood. Not only should the drive become more environmentally friendly, but that too Interior how seat covers are made from sustainable materials. Does this mean the end of the leather upholstery and what alternatives are there? The answer is in this article.

Renewable raw materials instead of leather

The car should be image as Climate killer get rid of, which is why the manufacturer also wants to make the furnishings more sustainable. Were considered leather seats So far as the non-plus-ultra, renewable raw materials or recycled materials are moving more and more into the focus of the automotive industry. One example is the British brand Land Rover, which, just like Tesla and Audi, adapts to the vegan lifestyle and, for example, in the Evogue and Velar models as well as leather seats Fabric covers offers. Land Rover was even able to win over the Danish furniture manufacturer Kvadrat for the development of the fabric covers.

Other manufacturers and even tuners like Techart rely on seat covers virgin wool and the luxury brand Bentley on tweed. For example, the seat covers of the skoda enyaq 60 percent polyester and 40 percent virgin wool. Many consumers associate polyester with a sweaty body feeling, but according to Skoda, it gets one through the combination with the new wool cooling effect. In addition, the Czechs refer to the breathability and that pollutants and odors from the ambient air be filtered, Also Volvo wants to do without leather in the future. By 2025, the interiors of Swedish cars are expected to be a quarter out recycled and organic Materials exist.

Plastic bottles as an alternative to leather

Sitting comfortably on Plastic bottles? If you can't imagine that, you should look into the new Audi A3 or Polestar set. In both the seat covers and carpets are made of recycled PET bottles manufactured what also for the Audi Q4 e-tron and the Q4 Sportback e-tron is applicable. And even that Tire manufacturer do research with tires like that Conti Green Concept an ecological alternative. Mercedes is also following the example and has the interior of the Vision EQS made from materials known as ocean plastic recycled, are. The customers are practically sitting on old fishing nets. And studies are currently being carried out at VW as to whether it is artificially produced Leather from apple scraps is suitable for car seats.

It looks like the automakers are competing for the best idea, like the interior in particular sustained can be designed. The developers and designers currently have a lot of work to do with the development environmentally friendly materials. But the research must be followed by series production. BMW announced vegan alternatives for leather as soon as technological advances meet the company's premium standards.

Materials age differently

The advantages of leather are obvious, especially in older vehicles, because the material impresses with its robustness. With good care, leather will still look like new after years or even decades. Other materials age much faster. So primarily light-colored fabrics can be used easily dirty or colored products will fade in strong sunlight. Plastic can yellow or tire.

By the way, in the USA as "Leatherette"Designated Imitation leather upholstery popular. The surfaces consist of vinyl and are modeled on organic leather. Unfortunately, the comfort cannot keep up with the original. In other models, the covers on the cheeks and backs of the front seats and the rear bench are made of synthetic leather, while the seat panels are still made of real leather.

Another alternative is Alcantarawhich is still very popular. The ultra-fiber fabric is a combination of synthetic fabrics Polyester and polystyrene and gives a steering wheel, for example, a sporty look. In addition, the material is easy to care for. One disadvantage, however, is that it ages quickly. Steering wheel and seat tracks quickly look greasy and unattractive.

Still high demand for leather covers

All of these mean alternatives the end of leather covers? Nobody can yet say how this question can be answered in the future. The demand for leather seats or leather-covered steering wheels is currently still extremely high, but development is progressing and manufacturers of sustainable and vegan materials are trying to convince car manufacturers and their customers of the products.

If you don't want to do without leather entirely, you may have the option of what has already been mentioned in the future vegan leather to fall back on. In a study at the beginning of 2021, the Freiberg Research Institute for Leather and Synthetic Sheets examined whether the properties (Robustness, tensile and tear strength, water vapor absorption, flexibility) of apple leather, cactus leather, pineapple leather and artificial leather correspond to those of conventional leather made from animal skin. The studies have shown that the vegan products meet some criteria similarly well and even better, but overall not yet can compete with conventional leather. But the development is stuck, as with the E-car, still in its infancy, and in the future the customer will probably soon no longer recognize the difference between vegan and animal leather.

Of course, that wasn't the end of it!

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