Japanese design studio Sozai Center has created Adam Sheet, a washable, scratch-resistant biomaterial made from leftover apple pomace mixed with bioplastic.
Studio founder Shotaro Oshima and his team created this earthy-hued biotextile from apple pomace collected from Japan’s Aomori Prefecture, one of the country’s major apple-producing areas.
Adam Sheet is a translucent speckled material made from “every part” of the pomace, including the flesh, skin, seeds and stem.
The Sozai Center grinds the grounds into a fine powder, which is first adjusted to the correct moisture and sugar content, according to Oshima.
After that, the pomace powder was combined with a small amount of bio-based polyvinyl chloride (PVC) to bind the finished sheet.
“Almost 87 percent of the leaf is pure apple pomace,” said Oshima, who told Dezeen that the material contains no fossil-based plastics.
The designer compared the seasonal production process to wine making and explained how the color of the material “varies from year to year, depending on the moisture and sugar content of the batch of apples.”
“The color of the sheets reflects these changes,” he added.
Named after Adam’s apples, Adam Sheet was designed in response to the large volume of apple waste created each year in Aomori Prefecture – something that Oshima says has become a “big problem.”
The waterproof material is machine washable and scratch resistant, according to Oshima.
However, being made from a mixture of food waste and bioplastic, it is likely that apple leaves will be difficult – if not impossible – to recycle.
So far, Adam Sheet has been transformed into bank and travel card cases as well as small shoulder pouches.
Oshima said the Sozai Center is currently testing the limits of the material and plans to transform it into fashion, furniture and interior design.
“Adam Sheet can be sewn, easily cut and transmits light – characteristics applied to fashion,” explained the designer.
Elsewhere, Australian studio Great Wrap used potato waste to create a compostable bioplastic alternative to cling film, while design studio Tomorrow Machine produced GoneShells, a biodegradable juice bottle made from potato starch which can be peeled off like the skin of a fruit.
Photography courtesy of the Sozai Center.