Mayra Zivanka explains how to make shoes sustainably out of coffee
Indonesia’s coffee industry is the world’s third-largest producer, following Brazil, Vietnam, and Colombia. The development of this coffee industry is unable to prevent a negative impact on Indonesia’s garbage problem because waste from mismanaged coffee amps can produce methane gas (CH4), which has a 28-fold greater greenhouse effect than carbon dioxide (CO2) and has negative effects on soil conditions along with climate change. As a result, coffee waste must be treated because it harms human health and the environment. When processed correctly, coffee amps can be used as an alternative to respond to a wide range of human needs, such as fertilizer-based materials, beauty products, natural dyes, and leather substitutes.
In 2020, Bell LivingLab, an Indonesian-based startup, successfully developed M-Tex, an alternative leather made of biomaterial derived from coffee waste using a series of procedures such as fermentation and bio-weaving. The procedures are done to create alternatives to both animal and synthetic leather, while also minimizing environmental damage. According to the Bell Society Impact Reports 2022, the company effectively turned 26.5 metric tonnes of organic waste into biomaterial, preventing 148.9 metric tonnes of CO2 from being produced in TPA between 2020 and 2022. It is possible to infer that organic waste with no additional value, if it is correctly treated and used, can be a beneficial alternative, particularly in the fashion business. Due to rising consumer awareness of the environmental risks of leather consumption, the usage of biological waste as vegan leather has become a viable option in the fashion industry. The use of vegan leather in fashion products can vary for clothing and accessories like bags and shoes.
Because of the potential of coffee waste as a leather alternative material in the fashion business and the high demand in the women’s shoe sector, I chose to design a collection of women’s shoes made of vegan leather from coffee waste. The goal of this project is not only to raise public awareness about the harmful effects of mismanaged coffee waste accumulation but also to explore what we can make from vegan coffee leather in the fashion business. I collaborated with Bell Living Lab to create a fashion product using their M-Tex leather from coffee waste material to produce a line of women’s shoe collections with the name Re-Born.
Re-Born from the word reborn means regenerated, rejuvenated, and “born” again. This collection was created to demonstrate how we can transform materials that were previously useless waste into something positive that benefits both humanity and the environment. Using coffee waste that has been turned into vegan leather through bi-technological studies, we created this collection to raise awareness about environmental issues and inspire people to not only produce art but also care for Mother Earth.
As a final project collection, I want to make my products as authentic as possible while remaining trendy. That’s why I chose to design the collection in my unique style, which combines gothic and streetwear elements. In this collection, I was also influenced by the graffiti culture as an alternate media for visual art and how street art uses painting to convey society’s goals. I included messages in the design to raise awareness about coffee waste and pique public interest in recycled products.
After going through a total of 50 raw sketches, the five final designs were chosen based on feedback from our respondents regarding their favorite color variations, heels, style, and additional accessories. I used embroidery techniques to put in messages using a computer machine embroidery. The color scheme I used for this collection is a combination of black, old brown, red, and white representing the color of coffee while also including the gothic streetwear style. The next phase is the experimentation stage, which involves exploring the techniques and solutions to the suggested concepts.
Before creating the final product, I created prototypes and demonstrated them in addition to gaining feedback in terms of functions and visuals from the chosen expert and extreme user. The prototype for this design consisted of two shoe designs selected using embroidery techniques from a total of 18 responders. We received positive and negative feedback about the prototype’s design, craftsmanship, and quality. According to the reviews, the collection’s designs are unique and engaging while being wearable.
The black design highlights the concept of statement pieces, whilst the brown one is more classic. There is an opportunity for development in terms of manufacture, flexibility, strap size and placement, and buckle design. Additional suggestions for development include color diversity and heel size. According to a live test, the product is fairly comfortable to use, but certain things might need improvement, such as the strap’s position when worn and the length of the thread detail. According to users, the message applied to the design is visible and adds a unique and appealing value to the product.
I wrote down the feedback on the revisions and started over. I noticed that coffee leather cannot be used in many areas of shoes, particularly the bottom, due to its lack of flexibility. Unlike animal leather, coffee leather has a gritty and hard paper-like texture, making it more difficult to form. I then decided to replace the outsole and insole leather with vegetable-tanned leather, which is more eco-friendly than PVC. I also increased the heel size from 4 cm to 5 cm, upgraded the buckle to a larger one, and improved the craftsmanship to make our shoes appear and feel cleaner and more comfortable.
The final revision outcomes are highly satisfying in terms of design and quality. Changing the outsole and insole to vegetable-tanned leather resulted in a much cleaner look for the shoe, highlighting the coffee leather used for the uppers. After testing, the products felt more comfortable to wear on long walks. Three shoe designs out of five designs were chosen to be displayed and shown at the Fashionology 2024, an annual fashion exhibition for Universitas Ciputra Surabaya Fashion Design and Business students’ final projects. I collaborated with another student to provide shoe wear with a similar concept and color palette.
This collection goes by the brand name Waztehaus. The brand name originally comes from the word waste and house means a place to recycle waste, while the word “warehouse” inspires the name itself. As a result, I received the Best Branding Award from Fashion Design and Business Universitas Ciputra Surabaya and was also featured in local news for the issue that was brought in this collection. With this, I learned that there are several recommendations for further research in terms of material and visual design. The recommendation is to conduct deeper material trials before beginning the design process. This is done to soften the stiffness of coffee leather so that it can be turned into flexible and easily regulated leather items. It is suggested that further research will result in differences in the style and color of various shoe products, allowing them to visually enhance the material and its characteristics.
The vegan coffee leather material has a lot of potential in the fashion business, not just for footwear but also as a base material for making other accessories like bags and caps, as well as leather-based clothing. As a result, in the future, this material may serve as a more durable and visually appealing substitute for synthetic and animal leather.
Visit msha.ke/waztehaus
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