So Swiss designer label happy genie opted for a different approach and is using fruit waste, in this case from apples, to produce its handbags. The firm has developed a new process that takes the leavings from apple juice production, known as pomace, as the basis for the material that goes into happy genie bags. Pomace is also used in agriculture as feed and fertiliser. Apples from South Tyrol go into the vegan bags. A mixture of pulp and skin is first dried and then pulverized. Outside Florence, the resulting powder is mixed with dyes and a binding agent, then applied in thin layers to linen fabric and embossed. The final product not only looks like leather; it also feels like leather. An Italian family business in Lombardy then sews it by hand into attractive handbags. Concentrating the entire happy genie production line in the same region also cuts down on pollution from transport.

Designer Tanja Schenker came up with the idea for the bags made of apple waste. "It is often impossible to reconcile the processes of the fashion industry with environmental awareness – and actually the opposite is usually the case.” So the Swiss designer tried to find innovative fashion technologies to produce vegan, animal-free and sustainable designer bags. The result is the happy genie collection: 30 different and changeable handbags, all made with the lowest possible ecological footprint.