Desserto®, Deserttex®

Leather

Blend

2019

Mexico

5

Founder(s): 

Adrián López Velarde, Marte Cázarez

https://desserto.com.mx/home

About the Company

After working in the furniture, automotive, and fashion industries and seeing first hand the problem of leather’s environmental pollution, Adrián López Velarde and Marte Cázarez, both hailing from Mexico, founded Adriano Di Marti to create an alternative to animal leather. After two years of research and development, Adrián and Marte showcased their animal-free leather Desserto, made with nopal (a cactus), in October 2019 in Milan, Italy.

Desserto is a plant-based leather made from a blend of nopal cactus and recycled fibers like cotton, distinguished by its softness while offering performance for a variety of applications and complying with rigorous quality and environmental standards. In 2021, they launched Deserttex, a cactus blend specifically for the automobile industry.

Technology

The nopal cactus is grown without pesticides or herbicides on a farm in the state of Zacatecas in Mexico. This species (Opuntia ficus-indica) is cold tolerant and grows with rainwater only. Mature pads are harvested every 6-8 months without damage to the plant itself. After harvest, the pads are sun-dried for three days to achieve the necessary humidity level. No additional energy is used in the drying process. The dried pads are ground and processed as part of their patented formula to produce Desserto and Dessertex.

Desserto: Fashion, footwear, accessories, upholstery. Deserttex: automotive.

Selected Brand Partnerships

Fossil, Karl Lagerfeld, Adidas, H&M, BMW, Mercedes Benz.

Adidas Black Gold boxing gloves made with Desserto by Adriano Di Marti.

Karl Lagerfeld & Amber Valletta handbag made with Desserto.

BMW's concept car with interior made with Deserttex by Adriano di Marti. Image credits: Vegconomist.