What is UPPEAL™ formerly known as AppleSkin™ leather?
UPPEAL™ is a vegan leather alternative that is durable, waterproof, and eco-friendly, making it perfect for the use on our bags and accessories. Developed by Frumat and made by Mabel Industries, an Italian manufacturer.
How is UPPEAL™ apple leather made?
It all begins in South Tyrol, in Italy, with the cultivation of apples destined for the food industry.
The cultivated apples are used to make juices, jams, and other food products. If the apple wastes (i.e. apple cores and peels) are not used, they are thermally destroyed or deposited in landfills.
Waste from the food chain is then recovered by Bolzano-based company Frumat, which gives it a new life in the form of powder.
This powder is used by Mabel to substitute oil derivatives (such as PU) with 100% organic industrial wastes. Approximately 30% of the material is apple waste, mixed with polyester, cotton and polyurethane to give it’s long lasting durability.
At the end of the process we obtain a vegan material able to replace real leather, widely used in the consumer industry.
For every Kg of apple residuals used to substitute PU means 5,28Kg of CO2 saved.*
Why we use it?
UPPEAL™ is a versatile and high performance bio-leather material that up cycles waste, and looks great as a leather substitute. It's manufactured in Italy close to where our products are manufactured, minimising our carbon footprint where ever we can.