Metal free, sustainable, biodegradable and with excellent quality performance. These are the characteristics of the new leather tanning process made with substances derived from hemp extracts developed by Conceria Nuova Impala. It is based on the Canapimp line, a series of products obtained with the use of biobased for tanning use. «It is an innovative system - explains Francesco Lupi - we are the only ones in Italy to produce leather with this type of tanning, much more sustainable than the classic 'metal free' one: hemp extracts are used for the tanning and retanning cycle, without making use of chromium or other metals and also using a smaller quantity of those elements which in metal-free processing replace the metals themselves".
The result is a fine leather of excellent quality and sustainable, more resistant even to prolonged exposure to sunlight (in addition to the classic nuances it is also possible to create pastel colors) and which allows to obtain from a technical point of view parameters capable of satisfying the customer specifications. Furthermore, this procedure has much less impact on the wastewater purification front, allowing reduced consumption. Starting from next October it will even be possible to recover all the tanning water and reuse it for the same process. «For the products made with this treatment we have obtained the certificate of biodegradability in waste water – explains Lupi – and we will soon receive the compostability certificate».
But the virtuous cycle does not end with production: the waste from leather tanned with hemp is reused for the production of organic fertilizer for agriculture, in line with the principles of circular economy. After all, hemp is a 'good' material: it is a phytodepurative plant that transforms and renders defenseless the products coming from the reclamation of polluted land. «This is the third year that we have been using Canapimp – explains Lupi – a process resulting from the research of our technicians which is part of our company's philosophy: trying to have an increasingly smaller environmental impact. In this sense, we will soon install solar panels on the entire roof surface of our headquarters, with the aim of having 98% of energy production satisfied by solar energy by 2023."
