London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Oct 04, 2025

House of Fluff’s New “Fur” and “Leather” Jackets Are Made Out of Plants

House of Fluff’s New “Fur” and “Leather” Jackets Are Made Out of Plants

The real-versus-faux fur and leather debate has raged on for years, and there’s never been a clear-cut winner. The real stuff involves taking an animal’s life, a choice animal lovers refuse to make, and though they’re marketed as “natural,” fur and leather are often treated with chemicals or even plastic.

Faux options, on the other hand, are typically made of polyester, which has its own environmental drawbacks: high-emissions manufacturing, micro-plastic shedding, and the fact that it’s made from oil (hence the term many have started using: “fracked fashion”).

                                

Where’s the middle ground? Kym Canter, the founder of faux fur label House of Fluff, has spent the past three years thinking about what comes next. Since she couldn’t find a natural, animal-friendly option that worked for her price point, she partnered with a textile developer to create her own plant-based “fur.” With her new collection of trademarked BioFurs and “cactus leather” jackets, she’s joining the likes of Stella McCartney, who introduced a faux fur made of corn last year, and Reishi, an innovator in the mycelium “leather” space.

                                

House of Fluff’s pieces are easily the most accessible and mood-enhancing: The BioFur hoodies, peacoats, and zip-ups are ultra-plush and come in a range of colors, from ivory and camel to lavender and an oddly soothing shade of cobalt-and they’re all under $500. Because Canter developed the textile (rather than purchasing it from a textile mill) and is selling the coats direct-to-consumer, there are no additional mark-ups. “If a lot of people can’t afford to share in these innovations, then what’s the point?” she says. “We want these to be easy to fit into your life.” The BioFur is made from a top-secret corn polymer, but it does require a bit of recycled polyester to hold the fibers together. “Our ultimate goal is to use no polyester at all, and to become fully circular,” Canter says. In the meantime, she’s found an innovative “upstream solution” to deal with the potential microplastics: Canter described it as an additive that’s used in the beginning of the textile manufacturing process, so if one of the coats somehow ends up in a landfill or in the ocean, the additive “kicks in, and a chemical begins to eat away at the micro plastics,” she explains. “It acts like a natural fiber and completely decomposes. That, to me, is an absolute miracle.” None of her peers are using the technology yet, but it could be a promising fix for our dependence on synthetics, which now make up the bulk of our clothing.

                                

Canter’s other big news is a collection of jackets made from cactus “leather,” a natural and sustainable alternative to animal leather. (Cacti have regenerative abilities and consume very little water.) “I looked at all of the plant-based leathers like apple and pineapple leather, and none of them felt luxe enough,” Canter explains. “When I found the cactus leather, it felt really luxurious to me, plus there are no pesticides [used], and after you harvest the leaves, they just grow back. It’s really incredible.” She said an oversized red trucker jacket has been particularly popular, but each one has the perk of being a conversation-starter. “I think there’s nothing better than having cool clothes with a great story,” she says. “People freak out when you say, ‘My jacket is made of cactus!’”

                                

In 2021, Canter plans to transition all House of Fluff coats, accessories, and home goods to BioFur and cactus leather, and she’s hoping to collaborate with other designers and brands who are interested in these materials. “We’re just at the beginning of such an incredible moment of change and innovation with textiles,” Canter says. “All brands should have this level of responsibility towards the products they’re making. It’s the only way we can move forward.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×