More Cream, Please!

Malai, created by Zuzana Gombosova and Susmith CS, is a sustainable alternative to leather that will delight environmentally conscious manufacturers and consumers alike

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What is ‘Malai’?

SS: Malai is a newly developed biocomposite material made from entirely organic and sustainable bacterial cellulose, grown on agricultural waste sourced from the coconut industry in Southern India. It is a flexible, durable, water-resistant material with a feel comparable to leather or paper. A sustainable alternative to leather, it does not cause any allergies and is a completely vegan product.

How did you both team up?

SS: Zuzana is a material researcher and designer from Slovakia. I am a product designer and maker from Kerala. We met in Mumbai in 2015, by which time Zuzana had already been working for over three years on bacterial cellulose as a material. She was keen to explore the potential in India for employing a traditional bacterial-cellulose growth process used in the Philippines, where ‘nata de coco’ is an important part of the food industry.