Summary

Atko develops sustainable leather materials from leather scraps collected from other industries and develops leather alternatives and leather-based yarn from the collected scraps. Every year in Korea, 44 tons of leather are discarded usually put in landfill. Globally, the amount of leather that is discarded without being used comes to 7 million tons, and only 13.7 percent of leather is recycled. (Source) The company has figured out processes to utilize their leather scraps and bring them back into the economy in the form of alternative materials such as leather yarn, recycled suede and leather textiles. The company partners with various tanneries around Korea and has recently collaborated with Italian fashion houses so this recycled leather can be used in luxury products. They claim to convert the leather scraps into new products without using additional chemicals or water to produce their leather.

Story

Founder Kim Ji-eon became aware of the leather waste problem and felt like the scraps could be better utilized. Years of research and development by the company led to the world’s first yarn product made up of leather scraps. In 2017, the company had a booth at the APLF exhibition in Hong Kong, the world’s leading leather trade show where a representative from Armani expressed interest. Since then the company has garnered more interest from luxury brands. Adidas has also since become a customer and has been using the recycled leather in its products.

Pic Credit: International Leather Maker (right) and Korea Tech Desk (top)