Understanding rPVB - The Future of Vegan Leather | Carter Industrial Company
What is rPVB ?
rPVB
rPVB refers to recycled Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB), which can be found in safety glasses from automobiles and the architectural industry.
Scrap Automobiles
Each year, more than 25 million vehicles reach the end of their use. It is estimated that each car can yield approximately 2.6kg of PVB.
Applications
The applications of rPVB leather & sheet include accessories, bags, shoes, furniture, garments, and even basketball! We continuously exploring possibilities of ways to use our innovative material and we welcome all interested parties to be creative with it.
Benefits of Using Our rPVB
The rPVB developed by Carter does not contain toxic chemicals such as DMF and DMFu. It is environmentally friendly and harmless to the human body, and it is known as a better alternative to other traditional materials.
PVC policies around the world:
There are restrictions on PVC Children's Toys and Baby Products and Packaging, including the European Union, Canada, Iceland, Mexico, Japan, South Korea. Along with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) which reached a voluntary agreement with manufacturers. Serveral U.S. cities have passed procurement policies to phase out the purchase of products containing PVC.
PU Carbon Emission:
Although PU is generally regarded as safer than PVC, the versatile substance is still made from fossil fuels, which means in the process of manufacturing it takes virgin polymer. It is reported that producing a tonne of polyurethane foam emits 3.7 tonnes of CO2.
Chemical Structure of PVB
Chemical Structure of Various Materials
The lists below compare the Advantages of rPVB over other Traditional Materials Such as PVC, TPU, EVA, and TPE
Comparison between Various Sheets:
Comparison between Various Artificial Leathers:
How rPVB reduces Ecological Footprint?
As of 2014, humanity has been using natural capital 1.7 times as fast as Earth can renew, which means that we have to explore methods for a sustainable lifestyle. An Ecological Footprint is an accounting tool used to measure the area of land and water humans use to provide what we take from nature to support people or an economy.
One of the most effective ways to alleviate global ecological overshoot is to use recycled materials. For every tonne of rPVB we produce, we save up to 17 tonnes of CO2, and 53 tonnes of water consumption. Our rPVB has already obtained the Global Recycled Standard certificate, and we use no less than 60% and up to 95%+ of recycled material depending on the customer's requirements, achieving environmental sustainability.
The Breakdown of the Calculations are as follow
Reduction of Carbon Emission per kg of rPVB
Source: REcoTec Laboratory
Reduction of Water Consumption per kg of rPVB
Source: REcoTec Laboratory
Process of Manufacturing rPVB Leather:
1. Recycling
We produce PVB resin (micelles) by recycling PVB scrap.
2. Processing
The scrap will undergo prescription and purification.
3. Output
The resin of the micelles form is generated after processing.
4. Manufacturing
We use calendar machines to produce synthetic leather.
5. Final Product
The rPVB leather can be further moulded into different patterns, colours, and physical requirements upon the customer's request.
A Short Demonstration of Manufacturing
Click here to browse more patterns of our rPVB material
Why is Our rPVB leather DMF-free?
Traditionally, dimethylformamide (DMF) is widely used in the production of synthetic leather. However, during the manufacturing process, DMF will release toxic chemicals that damage the liver and kidney. It might also lead to inflammation of the skin and cause cancer. The EU and some other countries have already imposed restrictions on the usage of DMF in manufacturing, and we anticipate others to follow shortly.
According to "The Independent", there are around 1,650 victims contracted various illnesses after purchasing some leather sofas that contained “highly sensitizing” DMFu. Symptoms such as severe skin, eyes inflammation, and breathing difficulties occurred after the exposure to DMFu. At Carter, we guarantee that all our leathers are DMF-free, with safety and quality remain as our top priorities, there is absolutely no room for compromise.
