The World’s First 100% Bio-Based Bag Is Here

Written by the VEGPRENEUR Team

Introducing the DREAMER Bag – The worldwide first handbag combining 100% bio-based, plastic-free materials MIRUM®, Biopuff® Original and Forager® Foam.

July 2024 – Nature has already developed technologies to create the products we need and love in harmony with the planet. After years of development and collaborations with material innovators around the world, this plastic-free July MELINA BUCHER is launching the world's first entirely vegan and bio-based handbag. From the outer material to the filling, reinforcements, and threads, the components of the innovative DREAMER handbag were rethought in line with nature.

Innovative, next-gen materials

Founded on the principles of sustainability and ethical responsibility, MELINA BUCHER is an award-winning pioneer known for combining next-generation biobased materials and traditional craftsmanship. The company's commitment to avoiding animal leather and protecting not only animal welfare but also the environment continually drives the young team towards new ideas and innovations.

In 2022, the company was the first to launch a handle bag made with MIRUM®, a completely bio-based material produced by Natural Fiber Welding. MIRUM® utilizes innovative technology that unlocks the potential of natural, FSC-certified rubber and uses natural colorants, such as naturally derived charcoal, to completely avoid plastics or synthetic dyes. This material has a significant positive impact on greenhouse gas emissions – with initial test results promising a 90% reduction in emissions compared to animal leather – as well as water scarcity, and biodiversity, as it requires neither tanning nor water during manufacturing and dyeing.

The hidden plastics in your leather handbag

“The last years, there was a tremendous debate about what is better – animal leather or synthetic alternatives. What no one wants to talk about: whether you prefer an animal leather or vegan product, all bags use various plastic-based components like reinforcements, threads, foams or fillings. These components make it impossible for leather goods to be recycled –a $ 500 Billion dollar industry creating products that can only go to waste.”, says Melina Bucher.

To create a product that not only utilizes some components that are more sustainable, but also a holistically better product, MELINA BUCHER spent the last years doing in-depth R&D, including in EU-funded projects, and working together with innovators worldwide.

Cushiony and fun, the DREAMER Bag is the result of 5 years of this collaborative work: as filling material BioPuff® Original, a next-generation insulation made by Ponda, is used. This biomaterials company connects the regeneration of wetlands with the production of responsible materials for the textile industry. Unlike conventional fillers like feathers and polyester, BioPuff® Original is made by extracting fibers from the Typha plant, thereby regenerating precious wetland ecosystems, sequestering carbon, and enhancing biodiversity. As reinforcements, a non-woven material based on hemp residues from hemp fields in Germany by Revoltech, as well as pure mycelium Forager® Foam from Ecovative are used. Forager® mycelium foam, grown in solar-powered vertical farms, is ready to harvest in just 9 days. This high-performing foam requires minimal energy and water, and is fully circular, returning nutrients to the earth instead of pollutants at the end of its life. From the very small invisible components to the very large visible ones, the revolutionary DREAMER Bag is made from bio-based and plastic-free materials.

Dreaming of a brighter future

The innovative DREAMER bag is meticulously designed and handcrafted in MELINA BUCHER’s own atelier in Germany. The use of next-generation, bio-based materials, combined with its timeless and visionary design, opens up a new, forward-thinking path for the leather goods industry. “This handbag could only be developed because there are people out there like our partners who are dreaming of a better future. The DREAMER handbag is encouraging everyone to dream big and work towards the brighter future we all wish for.” says the founder Melina Bucher.

The DREAMER Bag is handcrafted in the MELINA BUCHER atelier in Germany and can be pre-ordered now on melinabucher.com/dreamer