In-cider info: Sozai Center develops apple leather

In Japan, design studio Sozai Center has created a biobased material made by mixing leftover apple pomace—which includes apple flesh, skin, seeds and stems—with bioplastic. 

Dubbed Adam Sheet as a playful nod to Adam’s apples, the washable, scratch-resistant material uses apples sourced from the country’s Aomori Prefecture.  Studio founder Shotaro Oshima tells design publication dezeen the process of making Adam Sheet begins with drying and grinding the pomace into a powder, to which a small amount of biobased polyvinyl chloride is added as a binder.

“Almost 87% of the sheet is made out of pure apple pomace,” said Oshima. The design group is eying fashion, furniture, and interior design applications.