Meet Adrian Lopez Velarde and Marte Cázarez. The two founders of Adriano Di Marti, that came up with the trade name, ‘Desserto’ . Desserto which is a cactus alternative to leather, just won Peta’s Compassionate Business Award. Its competitive features in comparison to animal leather by far is its reduction in environmental impacts.
The company’s mission is to “offer cruelty free, sustainable alternatives, without any toxic chemicals, phthalates and PVC. The result, Desserto® , the cactus material, is partially biodegradable and has the technical specifications required by the fashion, leather goods, luxury packaging and furniture industries.”
How did you two founders meet?
Marte and I met in 2011 when we were studying in Taiwan. I was just beginning my bachelor’s degree and Marte was there studying Chinese. Marte went back to Mexico to work in the fashion industry in 2012, and I stayed in Taiwan until 2017 since I was working in textiles for furniture and automotive. In 2017, I met Marte again in Mexico and we both shared our job experience which was directly related to fabrics. We were both aware of the environmental impact that these were provoking in the environment. So, we decided to quit our jobs and focus on developing a plant-based fabric to help reduce the environmental impact of these industries.
How did you come up with the idea of using cactus as a leather substitute?
The idea was born after Marte and Adrian, having worked in the fashion and automotive industries, decided to offer a solution to the serious problem of environmental pollution generated by the use of leather and synthetic skins from these industries. It took us two years of research and development!
What can we expect in the future from Desserto?
Reduce prices, expand applications and have distributors in key points to facilitate access
to our materials such as the USA and the European Union.
I read you partnered with H&M. Do you plan on collaborating with other retailers?
Yes but we cannot reveal names until the brands themselves make their launches.
Be sure to check out Desserto ‘leather bags’ and other accessories with collaborations from Thalie Paris, and H&M!
Tijen the Vegan 