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Cars Go Vegan
Terri Evans DOM, AP
Doctor of Oriental Medicine Esthetician
430-6800
Leather Interiors are on the Way Out
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by Yvette C. Hammett
Specializing in Healthy Aging Since 1991 11983 Tamiami Tr N. 100A • Naples
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onsumers are becoming more conscious about their purchases in light of the ongoing climate crisis exacerbated by animal-based agriculture. As they begin to make better choices in what they consume, wear and drive, vegan car interiors are becoming more popular. The environmental impact of producing leather, foam and other materials is being replaced in some instances by alternatives that are becoming more readily available to environmentally conscious consumers. The Toyota Prius line uses Sof-Tex synthetic leather or other synthetic cloth upholstery which bolsters its reputation as a sustainable automaker. Mercedes Benz and BMW are offering customers plantbased alternatives and Tesla has been dropping leather from its upholstery choices for a while now, with the Model 3 and Model Y already sporting vegan-only interiors. The Volvo Polestar 2 also comes standard with vegan upholstery, along with recycled wood. And the 2020 Range Rover Evoque, Velar and Jaguar I-Pace SUVs all offer consumers vegan interiors. Research and development is ongoing in this realm to create faux leather that
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not only looks good, but is actually more durable and easier to maintain than leather. Vegan “leather” is being produced from cork, glazed cotton and even bark cloth, so it’s not just a matter of replacing animalbased products with unsustainable plastic. With funding from Honda and Ford, Bharat Bhushan, Ph.D., director of the Nanoprobe Laboratory for Bio- & Nanotechnology and Biomimetics in the John Glenn College of Public Affairs of Ohio State University, Columbus, developed a faux leather that has the potential to be used on both seats and dashboards. “I work in technology to repel water and oil from a variety of surfaces,” Bhushan says. “Leather gets very sticky when it is hot, so we thought it would be great to repel water or any other contaminant to avoid that stickiness and help it remain clean.” The side benefit, he further notes, is that it’s an alternative to animal hide. Audi Head of Design Marc Lichte, whose twin daughters are both vegan, says vegan leather is a huge selling point for customers and that both the Audi e-tron GT and Q4 will be animal-free. Faux leather will replace the traditional leather,
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FACELIFT
