Authentic Material is multiplying recycled material projects in the service of circular creativity in the luxury industries. Founded in 2016 in Toulouse by Vincent Menny and integrated in early 2022 into LVMH’s House of Start-ups at Station F, the company gives a second life to natural materials, destined for destruction. The company relies on a scientific innovation portfolio, close to alchemy.
The sourcing
The raw materials come from the untapped deposits – surplus, stock or production scraps – of the luxury houses that are also Authentic Material’s clients. Exclusively of natural origin, the materials are animal (leather, horn, wool, silk, cashmere), vegetable (wood, flower, fruit) or mineral (shell, porcelain, fine stone).
The “recycling”
The added value resides in obtaining a natu- ral material powder that is perfectly controlled from a physical-chemical point of view, thanks to a patented process, without the addition of any chemical product.
For the PHOENIX range, a name inspired by the mythical bird characterized by its power to rise from its ashes, the powder obtained is transformed via thermopressing. Thanks to this process, without any binder, a 100% natural recycled material is obtained, with unprecedented sensory properties. The second range, called QILIN, name inspired by the composite animal of Chinese mytholo- gy, is elaborated from 2 compounds only: 50% of natural recycled material powder and 50% of biosourced polymers, carefully selected by Authentic Material. It is compatible with all the classical processes of plastics processing.
Applications of the materials
Authentic Material delivers the transformed materials to the suppliers of the initial mate- rial, i.e. the Luxury Houses. The brands use the QILIN range for compo- nents of shoes and leather goods, accesso- ries, packaging… With PHOENIX, Authentic Material responds to special requests based on the principle of “repeatable craftsmanship” or unique pieces: decoration, accessories, watchmaking, cases, tableware…
Recyclability
All the materials developed by Authentic Material are industrially recyclable and are part of the great wheel of the circular economy.
This editorial is taken from the Spring-Summer issue of Luxus+ Mag.
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Featured photo : © Authentic Material
