Ohoskin is the first vegan and made in Italy alternative to luxury leather made from cacti and oranges.
For a great, guilt-free lifestyle.
The idea of the Italian entrepreneur Adriana Santanocito – already at her second startup – stems from the dilemma that more people are experiencing about their lifestyle: keeping enjoying what they love or give up to it to save the planet?
The leather tanning industry not only sacrifices the lives of billions of animals every year, but it is also one of the most polluting in the
world, releasing up to 130 different chemicals, including cyanide and chromium, into the aquifers and soil. Its effects on ecosystems are devastating.
Besides, we cannot ignore the impact of intensive farming on global warming or the ethical problems posed by animals’ slaughtering.
We believe people should not choose between enjoying their life and doing what is right for the planet.
Our goal is to help people embrace a more conscious and sustainable lifestyle without giving up on what they love.
We sought the formula to give luxury lovers all the sensations of quality leather, but without guilt.
We found the perfect ingredient in two symbols of our land, Sicily: oranges and cacti. The dry residue, the waste of their transformation in industrial processes for food and cosmetics, becomes our raw material and triggers a circular economy.
At the end of 2019, we validated the idea together with the Novartiplast Italia SA and thanks to the Smart Fashion & Design call of the
Lombardy Region.
In 2020 we extended the Italian patent into an international PCT.
In the same year, we validated the industrial scale-up and contracted the suppliers of the raw material in Sicily, and we are ready to start production.
Our patent-protected process develops into two phases.
Thanks to Sicilbiotech, an alliance we have made with companies in the agrotech and chemical industries, we process the by-products of oranges and cactus paddles in Sicily, transforming them into a biopolymer that will be the coating with which we’ll create Ohoskin.
The biopolymer will then reach Lombardy. Here, in the facilities of Novartiplast, a historic company in the production of synthetic-leather, our vegan material sees the light.
In this way, today, Ohoskin is ready to enter the market and be the ideal material for all those brands in the automotive, interior design, and fashion accessories sectors that want to offer sustainable and 100% cruelty-free luxury. It does not contain phthalates, and it complies with the EU-REACH and PROP65 USA regulations. The Anti-vivisection league awarded us with the Animal Free Fashion Label with the highest score of VVV + score.
Ohoskin is comparable, in terms of tactile sensation and performance, to animal leather. But, unlike traditional leather, it has zero social, ethical, and environmental costs.
It is a luxury that is good for everyone: animals, the economy, and the planet.
