They produced ‘vegan leather’ from olive pulp

Olive, which is one of the values ​​unique to the Aegean and has been an indispensable element of tables for centuries as a source of healing and taste, has been a source of inspiration for designers. Melis Baloğlu and Elif Tekcan, who continue their careers as lecturers at Izmir University of Economics (IUE), from which they graduated, produced a bio-based material (vegan leather) from olive pulp called ‘PIRINA (pomace)’. The duo, who created a durable and environmentally friendly material that can be used especially in automotive and furniture upholstery, came first in the ‘Futuretex Istanbul’ competition organized by the Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters' Association (ITHIB), which prioritizes university-industry cooperation.

Melis Baloğlu, Lecturer at Department of Architecture and Elif Tekcan, Lecturer at Department of Textile and Fashion Design, spent a 2 month-comprehensive preparation period for material production. The duo, who succeeded in producing ‘vegan leather’ that does not have any animal characteristics by using the pulp (pomace) that comes out as waste during olive oil production, also attracted the attention of sector representatives in Istanbul with their project. IUE lecturers Baloğlu and Tekcan, whose project was among the last 10 projects in the ‘Futuretech’ category across Turkey and made it to the finals, came first with their ‘Other Leather: Pirina-Based Leather Project’ and brought the award to Izmir.

WE CREATED ANOTHER VALUE FROM OLIVE

Providing information about their work, Baloğlu and Tekcan said, “Olive has a special importance for the Aegean and is a unique value for our region. We have created another added value from olives with our project. Pirina (pomace) is the name given to the olive pulp, which is left out of olive oil after squeezing. First, we crushed the pomace and turned it into powder. Then we mixed them with various binding materials to produce this surface, vegan leather. Vegan leather, which looks and feels like leather; however, it means a product made from plant-based materials instead of animal skins. We have created a design that fits this description exactly.”

IT WILL MEET A SIGNIFICANT NEED

Emphasizing that the material they created can be mass produced at an affordable cost, Baloğlu and Tekcan continued as follows: “We produced the material we call vegan leather to be used in furniture and vehicle interiors. Pirina is a waste that can be found easily especially in our region and has a very low cost. In this respect, we think that the project we have developed can meet an important need. This material raises awareness that cyclical design principles can also be applied on an industrial scale.”