“Compostable leathers are poised to become a standard on buses”: Muirhead exhibits at Euro Bus Expo

Leather supplier Muirhead announces it is attending Euro Bus Expo 2024 showing its vision for tomorrow’s sustainable bus and coach seat covers.

Ahead of this year’s Euro Bus Expo in Birmingham, the Scottish manufacturer says “leathers with excellent biodegradability and compostability characteristics are poised to become a standard on coach and bus fleets over the coming years”.

Recently, the company announced the opening of its £14 million “Super Tannery to further enhance the production of the world’s lowest-carbon leather products”.

Muirhead compostable seats: from aviation to buses

Earlier this year, Muirhead stresses it fully replaced its existing tanning chemistry with compostable technology. The resulting product, Muirhead’s chrome- and heavy metal-free FreeTAN tanning solution, is already available for aviation customers. The manufacturer is now working on meeting the high performance and durability standards required by bus and coach operators, setting the stage for the product’s entry into the sector.

Muirhead says it boasts a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of just 8kg CO2e/m2. Its patented circular manufacturing process incorporates energy recovery, water reuse, renewable energy, locally sourced materials with 100% traceability, and a unique take-back scheme for end-of-life leather. All its raw hides come from responsible farms with the highest standards of animal welfare and zero deforestation.

Kevin Smith, Head of Mass Transit at Muirhead, said: “The leather of the future is 100% bio-based, entirely chrome-free, heavy metal-free, glutaraldehyde-free, with fantastic biodegradability properties. To achieve this, we need cutting-edge tanning systems that eliminate reliance on chrome salts and glutaraldehyde, paving the way for leather that can be in the future manufactured without the use of fossil fuels, oils, and heavy metals. For over two decades, Muirhead has been dedicated to this mission, investing heavily in cutting-edge tanning systems and technologies that will enable us to increase the bio-based renewable carbon content in our leather to 90% and beyond. We’re now building on our pioneering innovations in the aviation sector to bring Muirhead’s chrome- and heavy metal-free tanning solution to bus and coach operators. However, the ultimate goal is a fully compostable and biodegradable leather product – a breakthrough that will transform the bus interiors of tomorrow.”