What is Alcantara and how is it made? Exclusive FACTORY TOUR!
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2024
- This is our factory tour of Alcantara. How is the microfibre material made?
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00:00 Alcantara for the Kimera EVO37
01:34 Factory tour: first raw material
02:34 Unraveling for fine structure
03:33 Condensing for make it sturdy
04:00 Second ingredient
04:16 Dyeing process for coloring
05:07 Individual styles and stitching
07:52 Alcantara fashion and furniture
08:18 The plastic argument
#Alcantara
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00:00 Alcantara for the Kimera EVO37
01:34 Factory tour: first raw material
02:34 Unraveling for fine structure
03:33 Condensing for make it sturdy
04:00 Second ingredient
04:16 Dyeing process for coloring
05:07 Individual styles and stitching
07:52 Alcantara fashion and furniture
08:18 The plastic argument
#Alcantara
Transparency note: Autogefühl videos are independent and free from editorial influence on opinion and rating. But since manufacturers enable us to do the reviews in the first place, for legal reasons this video is marked as _advertisement_.
11:41 yes, but you could also compare it to vegetable tanned leather that comes from pasture raised cattle, slaughtered on-site/pasture and as a byproduct of meat production.
meat production isn’t going away anytime soon, so the “production” chain might as well be heavily regulated with regards to animal welfare. and while you probably can’t push this thru on national/EU level (yet), you certainly could push it on car manufacturer level 🤷♂️
(disclaimer: i’m a flexitarian and prefer alcantara/velour/fabric seats to leather/leatherette)
@@kam_iko The "byproduct" argument counts as little as we should take the skins of dead dogs because their skin is available. If we pay for dead mammals in a car, we fund the industry that earns money with killing.
Plastic is a kind of "HC" combination. With wind and solar power we can extract H from water (H2O), and C from CO2. Then we "put" H and C together.
Then we could talk of a short circuit, instead of the long circuit in the nature.
The first step is made that's it to make H2 of solar and wind power.
This material is missing in the Tesla option list.
Plastic seats and poor ergonomy put me of from buying T3.
Bought Superb Scout wit alcantata instead. Prrfect ergonomy and nice seats. Same price range 😉
@@autogefuehlThey are still going to be killed for food, so the leather is available anyway.
Far more animals are being slaughtered for food then they are for their leather, abandoning leather all together would mean that that resource just gets wasted.
What I really question about leather is, sure, animal leather is biodegradable as it is, but I have never seen a study to see how degradable it is after being processed. That would be interesting information, since it's almost impossible to recycle, unless you have a good piece that fits your use and just re-treat it.
This is a great new development in Autogefuhl content. It gets away from just coverage of new vehicles and tells us more about the industries which go into the vehicles. So thank you Thomas.
That is not to say I want to see a whole series on seat cover technology. It does however open up content about energy storage technologies for vehicles (batteries, hydrogen, fuel cells) where a lot is happening; developments in the thousands of chips which now go into our cars; energy recuperation technology, much of it from F1; and of course there are the new electric motor developments. There is a whole lot to mine here and keep us informed.
I still want the car reviews though.
Thomas is so clever and he also looks the part , a really look up to him he's just so class and handsome ❤
thanks my friend !
Fantastic video, Thomas. Thank you for this deep dive. It’s great to see how Alcantara is being made and especially the Complex Manufacturing shows how much work goes into a special car seat. THANK YOU! 😊
👍🙏
Fantastic work Thomas. The best automotive journalist in my eyes. And personally I absolutely love the German lessons you provide us with! Thank you
Thanks so much m8!
As someone who has worked in a landfill. Leather seats decompose. Microfibre ones dont.
A microfibre seat you can easily burn and gain energy from it. A car leather seat is tanned and coated in order not to decompose
People are also not really taking into account how damaging the microplastics from these products entering our ecosystem and bodies is, in terms of cancers, immune dysfunction etc. I understand some of the "humane" arguments but the accumulation of plastics will end up wiping out everything in the end anyways. Many of the whitepapers and detection rates of the microplastics released this year are scary.
I m totally pro plant fibres, however car seats is the least problem of microplastics
Perfect work Thomas great Video. I think Alcantara first introduction in Autobianchi Y10 1985. Later renamed Lancia Y10. Had some in the interior and a small handy document bag that came with the car. That is what I remember from my Dad's car. The Autobianchi Y10 in 1985 it was amazing, had lots of luxury and tech for the price. We had one, the colour name was Petro Blue. Funny cocktail with the black trunk. Do you remember that car? Autobianchi Y10 and Autobianchi Y10 Turbo. Curiosity Alcantara is also a place in Lisbon were we lived. 🎉🎉thank you for your great video
Good info thanks 🙏
I remember that car and its alcantara interior. It looked great! 😍😍
Very very good video again Thomas. Thanks! Especially the explanation in the end about plastic use in car fabrics.
Thanks m8!
My back hurts like hell but videos like this one here help distract 🤩
enjoy! Also got some back ache atm I know what you are talking about...
wow I had no idea, I figured it was a natural fiber. really impressive to see behind the curtain.
Alcantara is made from Microfiber, the same thing that inexpensive bed linen is made of. Just woven differently.
And it causes allergies
It's a cheap material that kind of looks premium but is fragile and difficult to maintain
Horrible stuff, pig's ear rather than silk purse
It's basically plastic. Some precipitate from some petrol related reaction. Not sure why this is good but I guess the Ministry of Truth has repeated it enough so it must be good.
Yummy yummy microplastics, eat them up yum yum!
Excellent! More videos like this!
Autogefuhl is the best!
😎👍
I'm also amazed at those who design the factory machines.
The video I never knew I needed😅
hehe awesome =)
Interesting and informative,, 👍👍
Thank you Thomas.
👍
An awesome video Thomas!
Thanks 🙏
Excellent informative video. Essentially, [recycled] plastic pellets are shown to become an ultra durable synthetic suede like material through many processes. Really interesting stuff.
👍👍
What I'm curious about is the markup they put on Alcantara. Being a mass produced plastic product I would imagine it's a pretty cheap product to make overall. I suppose what bugs me about it is I get the impression it's one of those products that's mostly marketing and they're over charging for what the product should be. Now, some will argue if they can charge that much and people will pay it then good for them. OK, sure. But that doesn't mean I have to fall for it. I personally try to avoid supporting products like that.
and now it's only natural that you visit the vegan leather factory!
Lol!
@@alanincentraljersey why
You mean the plastic factory?
The nylon factory!
there we go with the plastic argument again 🥱
Awesome video, I've been working with this stuff for over 15 years in my own Automotive upholstery business. It's nice to see it come together.
thank you very much for this visit and to explain us how Alcantara is made. The most interesting was your conclusion on plastic and environment and I totally agree with you and your questions on alternatives and the major levers to pull. great job Thomas.
Thank you, very interesting. I dont particularly like leather car seats and would prefer fabric, however the cows will still be killed for their meat. So unless that changes it seems to make more sense to use the byproduct which would otherwise be thrown away than use oil/plastic products.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ua-cam.com/video/S1aNZeoatmE/v-deo.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ua-cam.com/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/v-deo.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ua-cam.com/video/6vXePQi_MAk/v-deo.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ua-cam.com/video/u94YXJ72UTA/v-deo.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ua-cam.com/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/v-deo.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ua-cam.com/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/v-deo.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ua-cam.com/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/v-deo.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
@@autogefuehl thank you for the detailed reply. In my last 3 cars there was no choice but leather, hopefully next time there will be an alternative. Keep up the excellent car reviews, they are the best on you tube 👍
Thanks so much!
Best Car Channel 💪🔥 without the nonsense and straight to the point and great car Rewievs...
thanks so much !!
very cool format. Please keep making this kind of content, it's very interesting and informative!
cheers !
I bet Mat Watson will do the similar video soon 🤣🤣🤣
interesting video Thomas , would definitely watch similar topics. the enviro talk at the end was informative too!
ps. a review of that lancia would be amazing ?!
Appreciated!
Yeah sadly didnt have time for the Kimera
Great video, I definitely learned some things about Alcantara!
Very informative and interesting video. We added it to the Alcantara section of our large "Seat upholstery & materials" article for seats. Maybe you get the possibility to visit the Dinamica factory also. They claim to be more sustainable than Alcantara. (But I know they have been fighting in the courts over that claims). Keep up the good work for the car community!
Thanks 🙏
Good one, Thomas. The question on "the alternative" is absolutely crucial, as you said. One must also keep form, function and sustainability in mind. Although for car interiors and even home furniture Alcantara is perfectly suited and a better alternative than animal skin, there are purposes where the durability of animal leather is unmatched, such as heavy duty boots. I have tested several materials myself, and when it comes to hiking boots, my yak leather boots are the most durable and easy to maintain, going strong even after 7 years of regular use. The choice of animal leather vs plastic alternatives depends on the application. Great to have such videos on technologies behind the cars we love, keep them coming. How about a video on the recycling of tyres? Cheers, Govind
👍
Really really appreciate this video!! Thank you Thomas! Good to know all this details.
Appreciated!
A very interesting & informative video really good well done 👍👍👍
Highly appreciated!
Thank you for this vid. As a car enthusiast, working in car world, I'm reading about and using the name Alcantara for the whole of my 47 years. And I'm today years old to discover what it really is!
highly appreciated! Keep tuning in !
Great and unique video Thomas. Thanks.
👍👍
Excellent work Thomas. Appreciate you and your team. 👍
Highly appreciated!!
Alcantata:Microfiber to Kleenex:Tissue
THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING. Been curious about that for so long.
😁
Surprisingly interesting!
Thank you
Thomas, I love these types of videos because it’s not possible to get this type of unbiased information anywhere else. I have seen people argue that the animal skin from cows is from the meat industry and these skins are going to be thrown away if there is no market for them. Is any of that true? We are only talking about mass production vehicles, not Rolls Royce level animal skin. Thank you so much Thomas, your channel is awesome.
Cheers! U re welcome!
What is true is that the meat consumption of "modern" countries has become that excessive that you have a lot of dead mammal body parts available. The crucial point is however that by every new funding of that process, including giving money to factories to use animal hide, you make killing mammals more profitable. As a customer, you pay for what shall be done. I rather pay for new modern materials where companies try their best to minimize their impact while not using animals or oppressing humans.
@@autogefuehlThank you Thomas! I now have the information that I was missing when combatting those that don’t care about using non animal products when making choices about what to buy. The best thing that I learned from you years ago is to call it what it is, animal skin and not leather, because that sounds like a wonderful product.
Highly appreciated my friend!
Great tour, and what a fun new facts-video 😊 Great job 👍👍
Thanks m8👍👍
What a great video of not just car reviews but also how the materials are made. Makes you appreciate it more. Fantastic work
thanks so much! please recommend our channel :-)
Very informative. Thank you.
Great video. A lot of people like the ease of cleaning, that comes with the leather seats. It would have been interesting to hear a bit materials, that try to match those features. I've also seen some manufacturers use wool on seats.
Thank you for a great and informative video about Alcantara. In the closing climate speech I agree with many of the points made. I don't think animals are killed just to give us leather car interiors, shoes and what not. These leather things are bi-products and why feel bad about putting something to use, which otherwise probably is burnt to produce heat.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ua-cam.com/video/S1aNZeoatmE/v-deo.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ua-cam.com/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/v-deo.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ua-cam.com/video/6vXePQi_MAk/v-deo.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ua-cam.com/video/u94YXJ72UTA/v-deo.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ua-cam.com/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/v-deo.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ua-cam.com/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/v-deo.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ua-cam.com/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/v-deo.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
very educational! Keep up the good work.
Thanks please share 🙏
This is really interesting! Big thanks Thomas and the team.👍👍
thanks for tuning in !
This is a very informative video of a very unique topic. Great job.
highly appreciated !
THIS is why your channel is the best car review channel on the internet! Very good and informative video!!
🙏🙏
A very fine and informative presentation!
Oh wow. Love these type of video as well as others about M cars ONLY😁
Very interesting, thank you for this excellent production!
In my former business, I used to visit factories on a regular basis. I sold equipment they would use on their machines. It’s always great to see something being created that we take for granted. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Now I have to go see if my car has Alcantara or Microfiber.
Very informative video. I have new respect for the material's expense. Thanks!
....Wow very well done-absoloutely amazing video, learned so much new info, thank you so much for the video😃😃.. Takecare..
thanks keep tuning in !
Excellent point on the seats/ covering making up only a small percentage of unfashionable materials used in an average vehicle.
👍
very insightful! thanks Thomas
Highly appreciated!
Great video, Thomas.👍
thanks my friend !
I remember those seats from my old man’s thema interior there was nothing like it. 👌🏻
Yes and I had a Lancia (Autobianci) Y10 Turbo with Alcantara ® on the dash board. A luxurious place to be in !
Very interesting and informative thank you for sharing! - (Also the Lancia was incredibly beautiful!) 😁
Alcantara is also a very nice material for watch straps 🤩
This is great. I would like more of stuff like this.
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The Downpart of Alcantara is that it wears out rather quickly compared to leather or cloth. It is also high maintenance as it gets dirty quickly.
all depends on the quality grade that is used in comparison. There are bad quality grades of materials out there and good quality grades
I agree - nothing is as good as genuine, quality leather for ease of cleaning, longevity and the feel which improves with age.
Based Thomas. Sweet tour.
How have I missed this video? Very informative and cool!
thanks! Please share! =)
Wool is the answer. Cool in the summer and keeps heat in the winter. There is no animal cruelty involved and its not a synthetic material. Toyota uses it for their Crown top of the line cars. Most likely it would be impossible to scale it so that all car manufacturers would use wool for all their trims but its a natural and sustainable approach.
Tested in the recent Volvos, the wool share seat is hot in summer and scratchy on the skin. On the animal side, factory wool production involves cruelty plus the animals are slaughtered when wool quality isn’t sufficient anymore. ua-cam.com/video/deHNomts8bo/v-deo.htmlsi=jvDCOBJBUW3QHk7Q
Wow! Thank you for that lengthy chat on the environmental impact. I was surprised in the beginning to learn that microfiber/alcantara is made from plastic pellets. Then your chat at the end was very good. Learned lots there as well about the environmental impact, which levers to pull. Much appreciated
thanks so much! Glad you liked it !
Your video was clear to point out the marketing hype and greenwashing the manufacturer was implying. Good to know.
Thank you -Excellent Vid ... This video confirms to me that Alcantara is not a premium material when compared to real leather. I understand why now it is replacing leather more and more and I am ok with this, nor do I not mind it in my own cars but when compared to leather ...no comparison.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ua-cam.com/video/S1aNZeoatmE/v-deo.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ua-cam.com/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/v-deo.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ua-cam.com/video/6vXePQi_MAk/v-deo.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ua-cam.com/video/u94YXJ72UTA/v-deo.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ua-cam.com/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/v-deo.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ua-cam.com/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/v-deo.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ua-cam.com/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/v-deo.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
great video , Thomas more vdeos like this please
Thanks m8!
fantastičan proces
Wonderful restomod
Wonderful Alcantara
Very interesting video. Congrat’ Thomas.
highly appreciated !
Outstanding 2nd part of video! I love someone put all those facts out!
In the end, an expert from ex paper factory said that PAPER is one of the worst material and also for recycling, yet plastic bags are banned and replaced with paper ones. As he said, plastic is perfect material, IF (!) we would racycle and not leave everywhere. I almost hate being European lately because so wrong direction we go. Banning plastic straws for drinking ... they could make thick and reusable ones! But now they give worthless paper ones that are wrapped in plastic at delivery. Than limiting vacuum cleaners power will also save a planet. Than changing bottle cap, so it is much harder to open and use ... it made me to start pulling that away and deliberately throw them into the nature, after 30+ years of collecting them and selling PP material. Generally, as you said, plastic is been removed or limited from our general sight and useful everyday aids were replaced by useless alternatives, but actual plastic consumption goes higher every year, especially in fabric industry where it is already ultimately hard to find clothes that are without plastic. Can we blame UK to leave EU? I also regret we opted to join.
I bought a 2023 BMW X1 with black Alcantara seats with blue stitching. They are easy to clean, look very high end and comfortable.
Very informative video with very solid argumentation against using animal skin. Recently shopping for a Porsche, I was surprised and disappointed that animal skin seats were the only choice on the "S" trim 718. Alcantara or even fabric would have been superior in my opinion.
Cheers m8! Yeah I agree
I like ALL your items, but this one had my special interest because I recently ordered a Hyundai Kona Hybrid N-line with Alcantara seats. Thanks for the insight!
It was originally invented and manufactured in JAPAN in one factory. It was specifically designed to be a synthetic version of suede leather.
that's true!
Great video
Thanks 🙏
I had no idea it’s plastic, I still really like it
I love my Alcantara couch.
Hoover, Biro, Leatherman, post-its, tipex. Brands so dominant that became known as the actual product. Same with teflon, kevlar and goretex.
Stunning automobile ❤
Interesting show! Thanks….hats off to Volvo for trying the wool approach to its seat coverings!
Thanks 🙏
Volvo wool seats are bad because they are scratching on the skin and get extremely hot, tried them this summer, the other choices in the new volvos are better
Excellent. A good balanced account.
❤ I love that warm feeling....but not soo much the stains that sometimes my seats have.😢
I used to think Alcantara was made from leather. I am now a primary fan of microfiber fabrics. Great video!
Thanks 🙏
Installed the GT350 "Alcantara" steering wheel on my more ordinary Mustang GT and its sehr schön 😊. I clean it with baby wipes 🤔.
Mushroom leather its developing as well. I hope one day we will find a good replacement for plastic
Interesting video. With regards to the CO2 associated with leather, do the calculations assume that the hides used are effectively a waste product from food production? If so, this will alter significantly the amount of carbon for leather, because you’re using a natural product that would otherwise go to waste
animal leather is not a natural product, it is highly processed. These calculations are even just based on economic impact (share the profit of the hide has for the producer and this part of the whole co2 output), so the real impact on environment and animals isnt even in that calculation.
Leather works great :) nothing wrong all comes down to cost !
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ua-cam.com/video/S1aNZeoatmE/v-deo.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ua-cam.com/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/v-deo.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ua-cam.com/video/6vXePQi_MAk/v-deo.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ua-cam.com/video/u94YXJ72UTA/v-deo.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ua-cam.com/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/v-deo.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ua-cam.com/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/v-deo.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ua-cam.com/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/v-deo.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
I have watch some DW documentaries about plastic recycling and it seems like most plastics can't be recycled or you can recycle it only once or it is sent to other countries for "recycling". I don't believe companies when they claim how much plastic they recycled because it is just a PR stunt. I do agree that plastic use in cars are for long-term use but at the end of its lifetime the plastic ends up on the rubbish anyway. In the end of the day we must look at how we can reduce the impact. However, companies don't want to pay and rather make the person who bought the product responsible.
Recycling indeed only makes sense if it is done correctly and efficient. That's why it is even more important to take the most efficient raw materials
Thanks for a detailed report! So much work into the product creation! Hope you got a pair of Alcantara pants for your girlfriend 😂
😄
Very interesting
I look forward to your tour of the Tesla Giga Factory, that measuring device will be very useful and don't forget to check the door sound
A kind of „SENDUNG MIT DER 🐭 „ 👍
Thanks Thomas for that inside view. The biggest contributors to micro plastics in the ocean are car tyres and clothing. Basically run off from roads and washing machines. The big issue with plastics is when they use PFAS forever chemical coatings, often used for flame retardants and non stick surfaces. In cars a big one is the stain protectors they use to treat car seats with. Have a Google of PFAS. Examples people might remember are Gortex, Teflon, and PTFE. I’m hoping we get plant based leather massed produced for cars at some point.
Cheers ! Very important points. These figures strangely totally neglect fishing nets, however they are all very important factors anyway.
Thanks for this primer Thomas. You answer manny of my follow on questions When this subject comes up. My preference is to move away from petrol based plastics and on to plant based plastics. All this said, I still love a high quality supple leather. My hope is pinned to the lab grown leather. Need to research further, but sounds promising. Thanks again for your efforts!
BMW already offers great high grade leatherette. Next step is than plant-based, we ll soon deliver an in-depth feature on this!
I wonder whether these plastics will be like what lead used to be for so many years. It will be an interesting retrospective at some point in the future for sure.
Interesting. Though I like leather seats, and meat.
You should go visit the Ultrafabric people too
I saw this product on the roof af a car some 40 odd years ago and could never work out what it was or where to get it when i too years later wanted to do the same, it looked fabulous like it had a suede lesther roof covering ❤❤❤❤❤
That car would make a cool, hot wheels car!