On June 4th 2024, Penn State students from the Smeal College Supply Chain summer course had the chance to visit one of the most innovating business realities in Italy, ZeroLab. Located southwest of Florence, ZeroLab is a young company, having been on the scene for just 2 years, and is the first hub for creative recovery of leather goods to become a training center and incubator for emerging designers.
The visit started with an overview given by Cassandra Kane, one of the co-founders, about the “what,” “why,” and “how” behind ZeroLab. She gave participants fascinating insights into the history and background of the project. She came to Italy from the US to work in luxury bags over 7 years ago – after experiencing first-hand the waste of leather happening each year, she decided to leave the industry and start a low-waste company with her co-founder Gabriele Rorandelli.
In fact, an estimated 360M kilos of leather is wasted each year – unfortunately, this is no surprise, as leather is a material with extraordinary levels of waste, especially because the worldwide consumption of meat continues to rise each year. Hides of the animals which go into the meat industry are largely discarded, since there is too much material to meet the demand of the leather-making industry – especially for luxury brands, as their quality standards are rigorous. However, compared to the US, said Cassandra, the EU is making so many more concerted efforts to create a more circular economy with several regulations and goals – including the introduction of the Digital Passport, which by 2027 all brands will have to utilize for detailed tracking of the supply chain of all raw materials.
Another source of waste comes from the types of leather and treatments now in use by luxury brands. The leather industry is particularly strong in Florence due to the historical leather tanning activity which has been happening along the Arno River for centuries – in fact, some ancient tanning activities in Florence date all the way back to the Etruscan period. While historically, leather tanning and treatment included only organic and vegetable methods, the newer types of leather are treated with chemicals in order to create a more durable and low-maintenance product for customers and brands. However, this chemical treatment means that any scraps of this material are labeled “hazardous” and must be disposed of carefully by following a lengthy and costly process.
ZeroLab gets much of their materials from luxury brands’ discards and saves these brands from going through the waste process. ZeroLab then upcycles this “waste” by creating corporate gadgets such as luggage tags, menu covers, etc. and by hosting workshops and aperitivos where participants can make their own leather goods or items from the leather scraps received. By finding a profitable and beneficial way for both the luxury brands and ZeroLab to continue this upcycling process, the founders believe that this could result in a very positive impact and reduce waste industry-wide, if more and more brands subscribe to this model.
Students from the Supply Chain and Information Systems course asked many insightful questions during this portion of the visit, including where most of their leather materials come from, how ZeroLab is meeting compliance standards, and what revenue ZeroLab has been able to establish in the two years since its founding. During the second part of the visit, one of ZeroLab’s artisans, Roberta Masetti, took the group through the full process of creating a handbag from discarded leather scraps. PSU students got to help in every step of the way, from gluing to sewing to attaching the hardware on the bag.
The experience continued with a hands-on workshop, which saw students create their own case for earbuds. Several sizes were available, and each participant chose their piece of leather, helped with the cutting of the design, and creation of the final product. It was a tangible souvenir of the lessons learned that day, and everyone walked out with more perspective on ZeroLab and their efforts to contribute to a circular economy.
Students were enthusiastic about the visit, and they expressed their keen interest in what they learned.
Kitty Riley, Associate Teaching Professor of Management Information Systems at Penn State, also shared her feedback on the insightful experience:
“Cassandra gave a fantastic presentation for our Supply Chain class. She explained the entire supply chain of Italian high-end leather merchandise. She described the sourcing of leather beginning with raising the cattle and how companies obtain the hide. We learned the differences between ethically sourced farms versus farms using highly questionable practices in addition to the differences among leather tanning processes. We then smelled and felt the difference between natural biodegradable processed leather and chemically processed leather, which has polymers and is no longer sustainable. Her knowledge and expertise in the world of high-end leather merchandise sales and production was fascinating, and she seemed to enjoy answering the students’ questions. She ended her presentation by discussing how to move the leather industry into a circular supply chain, while also explaining the complexities of the laws and regulations within the EU moving forward in the next couple of years.”