Danish fashion brand Ganni has exhibited special edition bags made with a plant-based fur alternative at Copenhagen Fashion Week.
The bags are based on the design of Ganni’s popular Bou bags, while the fur is made by biomaterials startup BioFluff. Claimed to be the world’s first fully plant-based fur alternative, the material is called Savian and contains fibres from plants such as nettles, flax, and hemp. It is entirely free of plastics and can be coloured using natural dyes. BioFluff raised $2.5 million in seed funding in November, in a round led by agrifood tech investor Astanor Ventures.
Ganni also unveiled bags made from two other innovative materials at Copenhagen Fashion Week. One is manufactured using Celium, a leather alternative produced by Spanish biomaterials company Polybion. The material is made by using food waste to nourish bacteria, which generate biodegradable cellulose that can be used to produce a leather-like material. This can then be dyed, embossed, and tanned with the same machinery used for conventional leather production.
The third bag is made from Oleatex, a leather alternative made from olive waste and recycled materials. The material was one of five winners in the sustainability category at last year’s V-Label Awards.
Responsible solutions
Ganni has previously developed saddlebags and wallets made from Bolt Threads’ mycelium-based leather alternative, Mylo. The bags were launched in 2022; at the time, Ganni said the material was the first plastic-free leather alternative that had met its rigorous performance and durability standards.
The brand also said that it planned to phase out virgin animal leather by 2023 in an effort to become more sustainable. It is unclear whether this goal was met, but Ganni continues to experiment with leather alternatives such as Vegea (made from grape waste) and Ohoskin (made from orange and cactus waste, along with recycled plastics). The brand has also since become a certified B Corp.
“It’s our job to create responsible solutions that aren’t just at par with traditional product offerings but exceed them,” said Ganni founder Nicolaj Reffstrup in 2022.
