Seeking animal-friendly options is a common aim these days. And it has obvious relevance to the luxury car market, given these machines traditionally boast elegant and durable leather interiors. One company, working with Jaguar Land Rover, reckons it’s developed an animal-free luxury leather alternative for interiors of the future. Japanese-American performance fabric manufacturer Ultrafabrics, which specializes in animal-free luxury materials, has collaborated with the car firm to offer its Japan-manufactured product as one of the seating options for the new Range Rover Evoque. The organizations have worked together to create a unique fabric that it says is “still providing the durability and comfort of traditional leather”. With this, Ultrafabrics reckons that “the resulting material redefines the perception of luxury car interior materials for this iconic car brand.”
Ultrafabrics’ work spans many industries, including residential and contract furniture, as well as upholstery for yachts, airlines and private jets, and it has developed materials for indoor and outdoor use. It uses Takumi™ Technology, which it describes as a “pioneering production method” which makes its materials “soft, comfortable and durable”. Two bespoke colors, Ebony and Cloud, have been developed specifically to meet Jaguar Land Rover’s design and performance needs.
The Evoque already had decent sustainability and future-orientated credentials, using up to 33kg of natural and recycled material in every car as well as having a range of innovative new textiles offering alternatives to leather, such as a Kvadrat interior, which is a wool blend and synthetic suede cloth made from 53 recycled plastic bottles per vehicle. The Evoque also has a textile option made from Eucalyptus, which uses less water than a typical interior would and therefore has lower environmental impact. Land Rover already had carbon neutral certification for UK manufacturing and product development.
Jaguar Land Rover has in addition teamed up with the Design Museum in London to launch “Material Innovation: Sustainable Textiles”, an installation presenting the car brand’s new range of premium, responsibly-sourced interior fabrics. The museum’s atrium seats have been re-upholstered with the sustainable materials used in the Range Rover Evoque’s interior.
“Leather alternatives are gaining momentum across all markets,” said Ultrafabrics’ director of branding Nicole Meier. “It’s an exciting opportunity to be working with a respected brand, such as Jaguar Land Rover, one that recognizes this need for their consumers. We really enjoy developing customized materials for such high-quality brands across a variety of sectors.”
“Working with partners like Ultrafabrics is an important part of our overall sustainability strategy,” added Land Rover’s chief designer for color and materials Amy Frascella. “All materials go through our rigorous testing for a durability and comfort which our customers expect from the Range Rover Family.”
Images courtesy of Friends & Co
