Apple is ditching all leather from its products in line with its goals to become carbon neutral by 2030.
The brand will be joining tech giants like Tesla in removing the material from all of its accessories.
It announced the news at its 2023 iPhone event this week, during which it focused on its plans to become more sustainable.
The news comes amid Apple’s plans to reduce its carbon footprint to zero by 2030 – a goal it announced in 2020.
Apple will be replacing leather – which has been used in items like its watch straps as well as other phone accessories – with a material called FineWoven.
According to Apple, FineWoven is an ‘elegant and durable’ twill, which is made from two-thirds post-consumer recycled content.
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Apple opts for FineWoven
The tech giant describes the material as offering a ‘subtle lustre and a soft, suede-like feel’.
It is available on the Magnetic Link and Modern Buckle Apple Watch bands as well as iPhone MagSafe cases and wallets.
In a blog post about how it is reducing its carbon footprint, it said: “Apple has pioneered the use of many key recycled materials in its products through world-class product engineering, extensive design qualification, and supply chain expertise.”
It added: “As recycled and renewable materials often have a lower carbon footprint than primary materials, Apple’s industry-leading progress in the use of recycled content also advances the company’s Apple 2030 goal.
“The new FineWoven material has significantly lower emissions compared to the more carbon-intensive leather, and both the new iPhone 15 and the Apple Watch lineups advance progress toward the company’s 2025 targets for the use of 100 percent recycled metals in key components.”
In addition to ditching leather, Apple says it is also making progress in moving towards offering plastic-free packaging – a goal it hopes to reach by 2025.
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Featured photo © Apple Inc.
