US-based company Cultivated Biomaterials is preparing to launch a Kickstarter campaign for what is claimed to be the world’s first cultivated leather jewelry.
The leather is produced using the cultivated skin cells of a cow named Angel, who lives at Sweet Farm sanctuary in New York state. It is tissue-engineered with a patent-pending technology platform; the process involves the use of sustainable plant-based scaffolds, novel scalable bioreactors, and fully animal-free cell-culture media and reagents.
The resulting cultivated leather is vegetable-tanned and finished using a non-toxic, plastic-free process. Jewelry made with the material will be sold under the brand name Angelry, and will target the high-end jewelry market.
Unlike cultivated meat, the leather alternative will not need to undergo a regulatory approval process to be sold commercially.
Bringing cultivated leather to consumers
The crowdfunding campaign is set to launch on September 9, with examples of the jewelry — including earrings, necklaces, and keychains — available as Kickstarter awards. With the funding raised, Cultivated Biomaterials aims to bring cultivated leather jewelry directly to consumers.
The company was founded by George Engelmayr, a biomedical engineer with 25 years of experience in tissue engineering and 7.5 years of experience in cellular agriculture research. Engelmayr has previously worked at cultivated pork startup Mission Barns, cultivated chicken producer UPSIDE Foods, and cultivated leather company VitroLabs.
Prototypes of Angelry will be exhibited at the UC Davis iCAMP25 Summit from September 8-9. Additionally, Engelmayr will present the MIT Langer Lab seminar in Boston on September 23.
