A 100% organic and biodegradable material self-generating in the minimum span of a month, thanks to the action of particular bacteria in a solution mainly composed of water and sugar: Macroteria, developed in the context of the empiric research led by the startup Debatelier. The thickness of the material determinates its main mechanical and optical characteristics. Macroteria represents a suitable alternative to leather of animal origin in regards to its application in the fashion, art, craftsmanship and design sectors, a research project promoting an ethical and hand made design for a positive social and environmental change, hopefully ultimately leading to the implementation of biodegradable packaging.

Giada Daolio, founder of the project together with Matteo Bartoli, took part in the exhibition-event “The Rooms of Sustainable Fashion” at Cittadellarte and spoke at its round table to explain the specificities of their research. Their collaboration with Fondazione Pistoletto is not new: thanks to the support of Olga Pirazzi, head of Cittadellarte’s Fashion Office, Debatelier took part in and won the UN public contest for innovative startups “UNECE Ideas4Change 2017” (see our previous article). “Debatelier is an innovative project at which we have been working for two years independently and mainly empirically,” – said Daolio in the course of the round table – “it is a startup based on the development of a material called Macroteria, of micro-biotic origin and whose characteristics make it comparable to leather of animal origin. Specifically, it is a non-synthetic eco-leather, which can be easily grown at minimal costs.”

“In the last few years,” – she added – “there have been many contributions in the field of innovative materials, but Macroteria is different inasmuch as its constitutive elements are available everywhere in the world at reasonable prices, besides having relatively low costs of production and farming, because they don’t require electric power or sophisticated mechanized control systems. As a valid alternative to animal leather, the implementation of Macroteria in the market could hopefully contribute to partially curb the negative impact of practices of intensive farming, both on an environmental level and for the harmful consequences of an excessive consumption of meat. We are proud to have taken part in the exhibition-event: the contribution to social and material innovation that the projects highlighted have offered has been energizing for us, and pushes us to totally commit to promote sustainability also and above all in the fashion and design sectors.”