MIRUM®

APPLE LEATHER
MIRUM®
ORGANIC COTTON
RECYCLED POLYESTER

Early in our journey we discovered bio-based materials and their potential to transform an industry. Often made using leftover waste from the fruit industry, these innovative materials had a consdierably lower environmental impact.

However, for all these new materials entering the market, a percentage of plastic would still need to be added, as it played a pivotal role in their longevity. This means they are difficult to recycle and aren't biodegradable.

As technology has continued to progress, the percentage of bio-content has continued to go up, however they have all continued to rely on plastic.

Until now.

Plastic Free, All natural.

MIRUM® is a categorically new, 100% bio-based material made from all natural inputs and completely plastic free. With uncompromising looks and durability, it encompasses everything we stand for as a business.

For the past 2 years, we've been testing with MIRUM® to explore ways of bringing this material to life and give feedback to Natural Fiber Welding. Through collaboration we are able to bring about real change, and define what the future of fashion looks like.

IMPACT

Up to 10x less greenhouse gases

than sythentic-like materials and conventional chrome-tanned leather.*

Discover MIRUM®

What is MIRUM® made from?

Each MIRUM® recipe will be made from a variation of natural ingredients including, but not limited to, natural rubber, coconut fibres, biomass charcoal, cork, plant oils, waxes, and other natural colourants. The MIRUM® compound is then moulded to a natural fabric backer, eliminating the use of any petrochemicals.

How and where is MIRUM® made?

MIRUM® is made by mixing the natural ingredients in precise amounts. It is made in the USA at the Natural Fiber Welding facility in Peoria, Illinois, which utilizes renewable wind energy. The MIRUM® is currently made in panels, with the aim of creating rolls of the fabric in the near future.

The texture is applied through heat and pressure onto the rubber-based material. During this process, the MIRUM® naturally flows into the backing, eliminating the need for glues.

The MIRUM® manufacturing process does not require additional water inputs other than what is represented in the natural ingredients. This means there is no effluent (wastewater) discharge generated from the making of MIRUM®.

Is  MIRUM® recyclable & biodegradable?

MIRUM® is the first material of its kind designed to be both 100% recyclable and 100% circular in nature. Because MIRUM® does not contain any petrochemicals or plastics, at the end of its life, MIRUM® can safely return to earth as nutrients.

While MIRUM® itself is circular, when creating end products such as accessoires, the circularity can often be compromised. This is due to the use of glues, stitching & edge paints that need to be seperated at the end of the products useful life. Through simplfying our products and working with suppliers and manufacturers to find innovative solutions we are helping to solve this problem.

Biodegradability is a complex subject. In effect, everything is biodegradable - the question is how long it takes to biodegrade. Certain governing bodies have put time-frames on what can be considered 'biodegradable', in order to help give clarity to the consumer. Due to this complexity in the definition, NFW does not market the material 'biodegradable' despite being able to return to the earth safely. It is also not the goal of MIRUM® to meet the rapid timeframe of some definitions because that would mean compromising in durability and quality.

Is  MIRUM® better for the environment than leather?

We can explore the answer to this question through NFW's recent life cycle assessment. Whilst there are many contributing factors to environmental impact, NFW looked at carbon emissions as a helpful place in begin to building this understanding. We highly recommend reading NFWs post to learn more about how they reached their conclusions.

The general trends show that MIRUM offers significant improvements over chrome leather and synthetic leather-like materials - perhaps by three to ten times worth of improvement.

This is becasue MIRUM is produced with low impact ingredients that are efficiently mixed, molded and shaped directly into materials that perform. NFW’s patented production systems are categorically unique and directly produce materials from abundant biomass, no plastics.

How durable is  MIRUM®?

MIRUM outperforms on a number of performance metrics, ranging from mechanical to chemical properties.

They have worked hard to strike a balance between the speed at which the material can biodegrade and its durability and performance. This means you can expect your MIRUM products to last you many years and perform with outstanding quality.

Has MIRUM® got an LCA?

In early 2021, together with environmental consulting group Anthesis, NFW started their journey of continual life cycle assessment (LCA), working to understand carbon impacts along the MIRUM value chain.

You can read about this here

*Calculation taken from NFW life cycle assessment of MIRUM