Sustainable Systems | Spring 2019

KOMBUCHA LEATHER LAB REPORT Brianna Zhang Instructions: Use the Kombucha Leather Lab Protocol to develop an experiment using microbial leather, aka Kombucha. Please watch the Tutorial Video before beginning. A. Predictions Describe and identify any predictions you have about the kombucha leather making process For example, how will temperature and time affect the thickness and quality of the leather produced? The leather produced in a constantly higher temperature and longer time would be thicker than the one produced in a lower temperature and shorter time. B. Process Describe your process in detail, including a step-by-step break down of what you did, and how you interpreted the Kombucha Protocol. This should include specific details about materials used, timing, setup and observations made. I boiled 1 gallon of water, then adding a cup of sugar and 6 teabags into the boiling water. After the sugar was melted, I waited for around 30 minutes to allow the tea and sugar mixture cool to room temperature. I poured the mixture into the plastic container. I tested the pH of the mixture which is around 5.0. After I added the apple cider vinegar, the pH is around 3.0 to 4.0. Wearing gloves, I added the SCOBY and the liquid with it into the container together with the tea, sugar and vinegar mixture. After one week, a layer of kombucha leather/microbial cellulose appeared, floating on surface of the liquid. Letting the leather grow thicker, I waited for another week and took the kombucha leather out of the container. Finally, I placed rinse the kombucha leather with water and placed it on a piece of plywood to dry.

Sustainable Systems | Spring 2019

C. Prototype Develop a prototype for a product you could make using the Kombucha Leather material. Think about one prototype you could develop using your Lab materials, and one you would make if you had more time and material to work with. Include a sketch or drawing to illustrate your prototype including scale and dimensions

D. Results Detail the results of your experiment including documentation (photos) of your process. What did you observe before and after the introduction of the SCOBY into the tea and sugar solution? How long did it take for there to be noticeable growth? How did the drying process effect the size and flexibility of the material? The SCOBY gradually converted the tea and sugar into microbial cellulose over time and the microbial cellulose accumulated into layers and became thicker. It took about one and a half weeks to be noticeable growth. The drying process affected the material to be thinner, harder and smaller, making the microbial cellulose layers look more similar with leather.

Sustainable Systems | Spring 2019

Sustainable Systems | Spring 2019

E. Conclusions and Discussion Discuss any significant conclusions about your project, and reflect on the significance of using microbial leather, the applications this can have to the field of design. Consider what kind of environmental impacts and issues this process can address. Please be specific and integrate course readings to support your arguments. Include at least 2 citations (quotes, references, data) in your discussion The project can largely contribute to multiple industries including fashion, industrial, product designs and more. The results and process of producing kombucha leather open a huge amount of possibilities in materiality and sustainability. Not only can we redesign the system of animal leather, but also inspire more people to experiment on replacing other materials in an unsustainable system. In the system of animal leather, animals are innocently and cruelly killed for fulfilling human needs on daily products. Besides, to manufacture leather and raise animals specifically for producing leather, people have made excessive use of resources like electricity and water during the past years. According to statistics estimated by fluence, “The total global water consumption annually for the bovine leather industry is 400 billion L.” Nevertheless, the production of kombucha leather is sustainable and has a circular system. The liquid for growing the kombucha leather can be used in durability. Besides, dye process is not necessary since the kombucha leather itself has a satisfying texture and color to be made into garments or other products. However, the kombucha leather is not absolutely perfect to be put into use. In an article that discusses new employment of kombucha leather from FUTURITY, the idea of “slow fashion” is mentioned, saying that “one of the biggest problems is moisture absorption from the air and the person wearing the vest or shoes.” In my viewpoint, one solution is that temperature and moistures are different in diverse areas. Kombucha leather can be applied to products in areas that are dry enough to maintain the durability of kombucha leather. The other solution is to cooperate with other materials like PVC fabrics by covering the PVC over kombucha leather if designers are concerned about kombucha leather being softened and want to have the texture of leather. Overall, I enjoyed the process of producing and observing the growth of kombucha leather and I hope that this new material can taking more places in markets in the future. Source: https://www.fluencecorp.com/water-use-in-the-leather-industry/ https://www.futurity.org/scoby-fabric-kombucha-leather-1149392-2/