IAC’s Holistic Approach to Sustainable Interiors

According to a new study, veganism is reportedly one of?the fastest-growing movements?in the world, with 9.6 million Americans alone follow a vegan diet. While most commonly aligned with the plant-based diet, the vegan philosophy expands to include a lifestyle that seeks to exclude the use of animals and their byproducts. As consumers seek to apply more sustainable solutions to their physical surroundings, from clothing to the cars they drive, they are looking into the individual materials used throughout their products – including within the interior cabin of their new vehicle.???

“Vegan leather” has become a common term, although in and of itself is an oxymoron. How can leather, which by definition comes from the hide of an animal, be vegan? The bottom line is that vegan leather is simply a marketing term for artificial leather?— a material created to look like leather made from artificial or plant products rather than animal skins. Vegan leather is most often developed from polyurethane (PU), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polypropylene (TPO), but may also be created from natural resources, including pineapple leaves, mushrooms, cork and apple peels.

“Even though we love the feel and smell of real leather, due to cost very few vehicles use real leather surfaces today,” said Kozora.? “I would estimate about 50-70 percent of the leather-looking surfaces you see out there are actually made from PVC, TPO or TPU, which are non-plant-based products that have been used for many years due to their durability and leather-like texture. These are sometimes termed as “leatherette” or “faux leather”. And of course, the other typical option is cloth.”

IAC has used a variety of coverstock materials within the interior of automotive cabins, including everything from cloth, nylon, polyurethane and polyester to PVC. Although automakers have the final say as to what materials are used in each vehicle, IAC has led the charge in researching, developing and manufacturing different sustainable alternatives since 2009. IAC’s interior experts work diligently to analyze the building blocks of all new materials, ensuring they are durable enough to meet the production levels required within the automotive industry while meeting the ever-changing demands of the customers.?

“As we think about what is better for the environment, we must also take a step back and perform a life cycle analysis to ensure the alternative is truly more sustainable than the original,” said Kozora.?

While animal leather is a byproduct of the beef industry and naturally bio-based, it requires an extensive tanning process, requiring energy and water resources. Certain plastic-based alternatives like PVC are difficult to recycle and require the use of chemicals that are not environmentally friendly.?

“Plant-alternatives may seem like the most sustainable, but calculating the land and human resources required to produce enough material for an OEM’s entire line-up of alternate cover stocks can prove otherwise. The calculations are complicated. A true one-to-one equation doesn’t exist,” said Kozora.

IAC’s approach to sustainable solutions is grounded on a holistic perspective to finding smart solutions to today’s challenges. This approach gives IAC designers and engineers the ability to determine how best to apply sustainable principles to the vehicle’s interior cabin. We believe this way of thinking fosters a more energized work team, one that offers unique interior solutions for our customers that reduce environmental impact.

Find out more about IAC and the Environment here.?