Volvo Cars’ ambition of exclusively launching entirely electric vehicles by 2030 also includes a new pledge: all of them must be leather-free.
As part of its goal of becoming a fully circular corporation by 2040, the company wants 25% of the material in its new automobiles to be recycled or bio-based alternative materials by 2025, rather than leather interior alternatives.
A study showed that two-thirds of consumers consider a brand’s environmental policies as a critical factor when purchasing luxury products. Volvo Cars has released a new report (The Rise of Conscious Design) in collaboration with trend forecasting company The Future Laboratory. All of its new fully electric models will be completely leather-free and the company’s vision of material use moving forward. The report includes existing research as well as new interviews and insights from thought leaders from a variety of industries.
The report is based on interviews and insights from thought leaders from a variety of industries such as The Textile Exchange’s Claire Bergkamp and former director for Stella McCartney, Wen Zhou and Sourcemap’s Dr Leonardi Bonnani. Volvo Cars also plans to launch a completely new family of pure electric cars.
Textiles will be made from materials such as PET bottles, bio-attributed material from sustainable forests and corks recycled from the wine industry. Volvo Cars will also continue to offer wool blend options from suppliers that are certified to source responsibly in its wool supply chain.
