The circle of it: This company upcycles fish skin into a leather-like material for luxury goods.
ictyos
Summary
Ictyos leverages fish skin waste from the food industry and has developed a high-tech process for turning scaly waste into luxury marine leather to be used for luxury items like handbags, shoes and more. The founders realized that the large majority of fish skin end up in landfill. Today, that represents about 50 000 tons of waste in France and 500000 tons in Europe every year. The company is clear that it only uses discarded fish skins from restaurants and the food industry and that no fish are bred only for their skin. This process is an age-old craft in France that has been revitalized by this company. (Source) The company has pioneered a leather transformation process based on vegetable tannins rather than on mineral tannins, in an effort to be more sustainable. Depending on the fish species, marine leather can resemble lizard, crocodile, or something entirely unique. ICTYOS works across salmon, trout, sturgeon, sole, sea bass, carp, and arapaima. The company now works with over 250 brands across fashion, watchmaking, footwear, furniture, automotive interiors, and packaging — including Alexander McQueen, Zadig & Voltaire, and Jean Rousseau. Alexander McQueen became the first brand to use ICTYOS marine leather on a commercial product — the Women’s Oversized Sneaker in white glacier. In 2024, the company expanded into packaging through a partnership with Gainerie 91, and launched premium collections for high-end automotive interiors. (Source)
Story
Ictyos is founded by three co-founders Emmanuel Fourault, Gaulthier Lébure, and Benjamin Malatrait who were friends from engineering school. They gave themselves the challenge to launch a company with a strong positive environmental impact, and landed on this idea after noticing waste in the form of fish skin that is routinely discarded and has limited applications even in the food industry. The trio raised €100k in royalty crowdfunding at the end of 2018 and were then given a six-month run inside a startup incubator run by fashion giant LVMH – owner of brands like Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior. (Source)
Pic Credit: Ictyos
“In the first place, we want to inspire luxury with environmental, ethical, and innovation values. However, that is not all. We want to have an impact on the quality of the fish that we will be eating tomorrow. By supporting the right actors, those who breed fish in proper conditions, we want to have an impact on what will be on the plates of consumers tomorrow.”
Benjamin Malatrait in an interview
Founder(s)
Emmanuel Fourault, Gaulthier Lébure, and Benjamin Malatrait
Headquarters
Lyon, France
In business since
2018
Business type
for profit
Technology
rescuing discarded fish skin from the restaurant industry and food industry, creating a leather-like material with discarded fish skin
Material
fish skin
Website
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