The use of leather and leather alternatives continues to be a highly discussed topic within the world of fashion, with multiple companies developing new technologies to achieve more environmentally friendly solutions. From pineapples to mushrooms, the market is starting to offer options other than animal-derived leather.

In this spirit, for a Spring 2021 collection, the team at Karl Lagerfeld joined forces with model-actress Amber Valletta to create a collection of accessories made with sustainable materials that cause low ecological impact. Launched back in April, the collection’s highlight was the reimagined K/Kushin bag.

The whole mindset behind this bag was environmental awareness and to have a positive impact on the environment. This includes not only the materials used to create it, but how the profits will be donated to the charity Ocean Cleanup, which aims to retrieve plastic in the world’s oceans.

The house classic was made available in two sustainable versions. The first one is made with vegan leather made from cacti. Engineered by Desserto in Mexico, this environmentally sustainable and recyclable alternative was produced without any irrigation, herbicides or pesticides, and was dyed with organic pigments.

The second version was created with 90% recycled cotton that had been certified by the Global Recycle Standard (GRS), an organization that sets requirements for third-party accreditations of recycled content. The decorative cord details were also made with the same cotton.

Just recently, the cactus leather version of the K//Kushion bag won the German People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) fashion award. This faux leather version won the Best Designer Piece award.

“This award is an honor and proves that environmentally conscious styles can be just as chic and fashion-forward,” said Valletta. “I am sure we can continue to make significant progress in this respect through originality, cutting-edge design, and true innovation.”

Back in 2019, the brand signed the G7 Fashion Pact which aims to achieve key environmental goals as part of its commitment to sustainability.

“This award underscores the incredible achievement that Amber and our team were able to attain with this collection,” said Pier Paolo Righi, CEO of Karl Lagerfeld. “The overarching success of the collection, including this award, means a lot to the brand as we continue to excite our customers with responsibly made fashion and accessories.”

This isn’t the last sustainable effort we’ll see from the house that Karl Lagerfeld built, a second environmentally conscious collection, with ready-to-wear clothes and accessories is already in the works, and is expected to release in the new year.

You can still shop items from the Amber Valletta x Karl Lagerfeld collection at Karl.com.

In related news, PANGAIA just dropped a collection of accessories made with MIRUM’s plant-based leather alternative.