“Take a seat !” Innovation and sustainability — The Game Changers

Alien Wits
Aug 8, 2017 · 12 min read

*EDIT* : on July 22th, Tesla announced they would eliminate leather, only selling vegan seats to answer an ever-growing demand — motivated by sustainability concerns and the will to have only cruelty-free choices for interiors packages. However, the default steering wheel remains made of animal skin and we can only hope they will fully implement their new policy”. We will add a link to the special feature of Autogefühl on this subject as soon as it has been published.

Source : Electrek

What do the space and the automotive industry have in common ?

Well, a lot. At first glance you would be surprised, but take the simple example of the Thermoelectric Energy Conversion technology (see left box).

I was recently complaining on a recent post from the Futurism magazine, about the fact the main car manufacturers are not following suit with Tesla, Inc revolutionary tech. Someone told me I was wrong, and to be fair, I did some research and saw he was right (after all, you learn a lot more from criticizm than from praise. But praise feels good).

Let me quote Sarwant Singh from Forbes : « the automotive industry has undergone massive transformation in the last five years. The traditional ecosystem of this industry has been challenged with technological developments and evolving business models. Electrification of vehicles, advancements of sensor, electrical architecture, OTA, artificial Intelligence(AI) algorithms, mobility business models, machine learning and self-driving cars, are not only disrupting the conventional ecosystem of the automotive industry, but is slowly and surely making it obsolete ». Of course, all this tech also applies widely to space matters, making them industrial cousins.

I wasn’t completely wrong though, since we are talking about start-ups playing this welcome, disruptive role. But the industry itself, globally, can’t live on a statu quo that would allow it to remain static. In fact, it’s a constant rush towards the next appealing, best-selling innovation. But, as stated by M. Singh, « the traditional mindset of the automotive industry, especially original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and Tier 1 suppliers combined with an inflexible research and development process, impedes ‘out of box’ thinking, further slowing down the innovation/adoption of new products ».

So, what can be said on this topic ?

Let’s talk about another booming Industry : recycling. It’s been a long time since we’ve know recycling and repurposing things is the way to go. Living in a world with finite resources — as opposed to the promising space mining industry and its $8-trillions- worth-of-iron asteroids. Human activities constantly require raw minerals and materials for food production, modern industry, economic and technological progress. However, the most unlikely thing we’re to find on asteroids, devoid of atmosphere, are living or dead organisms. It means we’ll probably not find fossil fuels either, since they formed from prehistoric plants and animals that lived hundreds of millions of years ago. It also means we’ll have to rely on other types of fuels; for example, hydrogen and oxygen, abundant in certain asteroids and which can be turned into propellants for various space vehicles commercial satelites). engineers also have technologies to convert solar energy to electrical power efficiently, like, for instance, the solar arrays of the International Space Station which are made of thousands of solar cells.

When it comes to space, anything can, and must be, useful. We’ll send 3D printers in space and take them with us in order to colonize Mars and the Moon. Using specific components, but also dust, we’ll print everything on the spot — from medical tools and supplies to temporary housing or even 2,500- square-foot buildings. We must mention here the 2015 In-Situ Materials Challenge launched by NASA, which seeked solutions to utilize surface- based materials like regolith (crushed basalt rock) for Earth and space fabrication and construction applications.

Keeping this in mind, one can only understand how recycling will, once again, prove useful for space explorers and settlers of other worlds in the Solar system. But we can also grasp the reality of it for Earthly matters.

Let’s take a seat

Let’s go back to the automotive industry and look at a car (any model will do for now). Of course, we first see the vehicle in itself, along with its fuel engine or induction motor. But let’s take a look inside and concentrate on the most practical aspect of it — the seats. Just keep in mind seating is something we’ll always do, should we drive a car or be driven in a spaceship heading to Mars (especially when you remember the travel is between 150 to 300 days long). So, what have we got there? Different options, such as fabric, leather and leatherette, or « faux leather ». We’ll focus on the latter.

The real question is, which one is more sustainable ?

Let’s begin with the leatherette. According to Carole Murphy, « many are very damaging to environment and contain high levels of toxins that are both released during manufacturing and at the end of the articles life when it finds its way to a landfill ». About leatherette, it’s « usually made by covering a fabric base with plastic. The fabric can be made of a natural or a synthetic fibre which is then covered with a soft PVC layer ». And it’s not biodegradable. However, more sustainable and environmental-friendly alternatives do exist. This is how I heard first about Dinamica, a faux suede made from 100% recycled PET, requiring « 60% less carbon emissions than conventional polyester fabrics » and used in the automotive industry. Leather is said to be more durable, but needs however « higher maintenance than leatherette ». Made of animal skin which is a porous material, it can easily absorb spills and odours, according to Soho Concept.

What’s behind the leather’s industry for car seats ?

First of all, a crisis if you believe Business Insider. The high demand in leather seats comes from the expectations of luxury buyers, but it’s moving down to lower priced vehicles. More leather means more cattle herds. And what about the carbon footprint — such hated words for any industry ?

Climate change is becoming a pressing issue for industries worldwide. And finished bovine leather has significant impacts to the carbon footprints . Also, it’s worth reminding that « the ten hottest years on record have all occurred since 1998 ». According to the website Leatherpanel.org, « latest estimates show that global CO2 emissions increased to 30,600 million tonnes in 2010. Industry and manufacturing contribute for 19% of all Greenhouse Gas Emissions ». Since there is no international agreement on Leather PCF calculation methods, it’s rather difficult to estimate its part in the global carbon footprint .

However, the UNIDO’s report on Leather Processing Carbon Footprint concluded that «more than 99% of the world leather production is coming from the processing of raw hides and skins deriving from animals which have been raised mainly for milk and/or meat production ». According to another team of Oxford Martin School, « in three decades, emissions related to agriculture and food production are likely to account for about half of the world’s available “carbon budget” — the limited amount of carbon dioxide and its equivalents that can be poured into the atmosphere if we are to hold global warming to no more than 2C. […] With intensive agriculture increasingly geared towards livestock rearing, food production will be a major concern ».

According to the Guardian, « intensive livestock-rearing is a major cause of greenhouse gases, in part because of the methane produced by the animals and the massive slurry pits that accompany large farms ».

It’s easy, then, to get the picture.

The more sustainable way would then be to produce recycled faux leather, like the Dinamica faux

suede. Big car manufacturers, such as Hyundai and Mercredes, are already using it under an « eco-conscious » label and — for the latter — delivering mixed packages with real leather.

Since I’m no expert in the automotive industry (at least for now), I asked for someone well-versed in the matter to answer some questions on this complex topic. Not long ago, I discovered a youtube channel named Autogefühl (which I already mentionned on this blog). Although they make pretty good and instructive reviews of new vehicles and brands, one of their speakers also makes a point on shifting to alternatives for seat cars. His name is Thomas Majchrzak and he kindly agreed to share his knowledge on the matter. We’ll widen the subject a bit to see how main car manufacturers are dealing with more and more pressing environmental concerns.

Innovation and sustainability — the Interview

Thank you for answering our questions, Thomas. You personaly addressed a couple of videos to car CEO and consumers (links below) — including a speech at the University of Cologne –, on the alternatives to leather seats. Do you think there is willingness to improve things in that matter, among professionals ? And do you think there is hope that consumers will be ready to massively shift to Alcantara and faux leather’s options, and even consider it as valuable as traditional « luxury » packages including real leather ?

It is crucial to create awareness first. It is not about what you bought in the past and not about blaming anyone, but about information and transparency that customers can take a sustainable decision they are happy with. It is important to know that leather is heavily chemically processed, always means animal cruelty and that it is by no means a byproduct of the meat and dairy industry.

All parts of the animal contribute to the income of the mass animal agriculture business. When you turn the argument around (imagine this talk at the butcher’s) and say that meat would just be a byproduct of the leather industry and therefore you can buy the steak as a vegan, you immediately get why the byproduct-argument is none. More and more journalists are picking up the topic, realizing its significance. And there are more and more car projects for vegan interiors coming up, for example with Bentley, Mini and Kia. Mercedes and Tesla already offer a lot of choices without marketing it very much, though. So yes, the willingness is definitely present, but the companies also have to push it as a positive unique selling point and they have to stand up to their responsibility for humans, animals and the planet. You have to make it easier for the customer, as the customer demand is already there.

You also stated that « animal skin in cars should belong to the past ». This position is certainly shared by Tesla, Inc, which has notoriously gone vegan to match the environmental-friendly image of his vehicles. However, other electric cars such as the 2017 Leaf SL Nissan still offer leather choice. What is your opinion on this ? Is the contradiction due to consumers actual expectations ? Hyundai and Mercedes are already offering sustainable leatherette alternatives for their models. Do you know of other brands following suit ? Do they only offer it for premium cars or, on the contrary, is the option available for their whole range of vehicles ?

I don’t think Tesla is very strict in its policy. Yes, they offer a vegan interior in the Model X, but the very

same seat interior is combined with a cow hide steering wheel in the Model S for example. And they do not progressively market the high-class leatherette, the best there is on the market as for the softness right now, as a special feature yet. When you take a look at their configurator, you will find plenty of animal skin choices. Tesla could also lead the way in this respect and make high-grade fabric, velours and leatherette a core brand value, the customers would appreciate it. Electric vehicles, which are marketed as sustainable, show a strong contradiction when they are offered with animal skin materials. At the moment, you can either go with cheap cars in the Micro, Small and Compact car segment to avoid animal skin, or you can go with Premium vehicles in the base trim (e.g. an Audi A4 is available with a non-animal steering wheel and attratctive fabric seats in the base trim in Germany, in the USA the base trim for Audi, BMW, Mercedes is more often with leatherette, e.g. BMW Sensatec). In the higher trim levels, which are demanded increasingly, you can at the moment only refer to Mercedes (they even replace the steering wheel surface on demand) and Tesla, as most manufacturers combine high trim with animal hide packages.

According to Sarwant Singh, Forbes journalist, there is over 1,700 start-Ups « centered on mobility (car sharing, ride hailing, car pooling), electrification, and connected car technologies » currently disrupting the automotive industry. Do you think they’ll be able to play a real « game-changing » role in the near-future ? What kind of innovation do you consider the most environmental-friendly in the automotive industry ?

What we have seen is that impressive startups with great ideas are often quickly bought out by the big corporations when they realize the small think tanks are up to something. The big companies have the money to retain control over the industry and it is hard to do something without them. But they are also the main customer, be it on contract basis or in the end on buy-out basis. It is very interesting that everyone says the industry is shaken up but at the same time everything goes business as usual. Everyone will applaud you when you say «The car industry is dramatically changing », but I honestly don’t see it happening as we speak as the big corporations are too big to be able to act quickly. But the awareness of long-term drastic change makes it easier to speed up the little steps towards the future, like more assistance systems on the road to autonomous driving, different alterantive drivetrains like CNG or EV on the way to less pollution inside the cities or refraining from taking animal-based materials in interiors. Also, natural materials are evolving like using hemp in dashboards for lightweight building, plastic recycling for high-grade artificial seats or even projects like Pinatex, pineapple leather based on pineapple leaves — used in the Philippines for ages by the way, just re-discovered for modern use.

Copyright

@2017 by Alien Wits. This article is made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License (International) (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Links

Autogefühl on Youtube

Autogefühl blog (in German)

Thomas speech on Automotive Industry at University of Cologne — Autogefühl

Articles

Thermoelectric Materials for Space and Automotive Power Generation — Jihui Yang and Thierry Caillat, for the MRS Bulletin, Cambridge

Over 1,700 Start-Ups Are Disrupting The Automotive Industry, by Sarwant Singh

Space Station Solar Arrays, NASA website

Astronauts 3D Print the First Medical Supplies in Space, Which Can Also Teach Us More About Healthcare on Earth, by Sarah Saunders

The First Mars Colony Could Be 3D Printed From Red Planet Dust, By Tia Ghose

In-Situ Materials Challenge, NASA

How Long Does it Take to Get to Mars? By Fraser Cain

Vegan Leather Substitutes: Eco-friendly or a Toxic Alternative? By Carole Murphy

Leatherette vs Leather : what’s the difference ? Soho Concep

There’s A Leather Seat Crisis In The World’s Auto Industry, by Matthew DeBord

Life Cycle Assessment, Carbon Footprint in Leather Processing, by the UNIDO

Eat less meat to avoid dangerous global warming, scientists say, by Fiona Harvey

Pictures Credits

Man in white button-down-shirt leaning on a silver beetle — Pixabay (modified)

White bucket car seats — Mike for Pexels

Dog in a car — Tim Gouw for Pexels

Yellow quiz background — Freepik

Set of hand-drawn questionnaires — Freepik

Black seats — Mike for Pexels

Alien Wits

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Life is about evolving ! Read our #articles and share the love of groundbreaking #technologies, innovative #ideas and pioneering concepts on www.alienwits.com !

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