T-rex Leather: Reality or Science Fiction?
A project launched in 2025 has given life to Elemental X™, a material dubbed “T-rex leather” because it is inspired by reconstructed DNA fragments of a Tyrannosaurus rex. This unusual material, designed to be a more sustainable alternative to animal leather, was developed by Lab-Grown Leather Ltd, in collaboration with the creative agency VML and The Organoid Company. What It Is and How It’s Made At the core of this material lies fossil collagen, a protein that—though only in traces—has survived millions of years inside dinosaur bones. Scientists don’t have complete dinosaur DNA, but they use these fragments as a blueprint to design and reconstruct protein sequences reminiscent of the…
Fashion brands linked to deforestation in Amazonia
Stand.Earth has recently published a research on the link between the fashion industry and the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Using public and government data, the survey shows how the supply of leather from fashion brands represents an existential climate risk for the world, the Amazon rainforest and indigenous communities. The cattle industry is linked to the availability of forests. A World Resources Institute’s study found that from 2001 to 2015 cattle was responsible for 36% of global tree cover loss. Cattle replaced nearly double the forest area of all other assets combined (soy, palm oil, rubber, coconut, coffee, wood fiber). By analyzing the tracking of leather exported by the…
