Swedish car manufacturer Volvo has put animal welfare at the heart of its future strategy by going leather-free in all their new fully electric models.
With the brand aiming to have a line-up of pure electric cars by 2030, Volvo are now exploring solutions to enable high-quality and sustainable materials in all of their cars. The company is aiming to have 25 per cent of the material in their cars recycled and bio-based by 2025, and looking to be a fully circular business by 2040.
One of Volvo’s key aims is to consider the negative environmental impacts of cattle farming, which include deforestation as a byproduct. Livestock is also thought to be responsible for 14 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
One of the sustainable materials which Volvo will be using to replace leather is ‘Nordico’ a textile made up of plastic bottles, bio-material from forests in Sweden and Finland and corks recycled from the wine industry.
“Being a progressive car maker means we need to address all areas of sustainability, not just CO2 emissions,” said Stuart Templar, director of global sustainability at Volvo Cars. “Responsible sourcing is an important part of that work, including respect for animal welfare. Going leather-free inside our pure electric cars is a good next step towards addressing this issue.”
“Finding products and materials that support animal welfare will be challenging, but that is no reason to avoid this important issue.
“This is a journey worth taking. Having a truly progressive and sustainable mindset means we need to ask ourselves difficult questions and actively try and find answers.”