Sustainability


Let's talk materials...
Poppy is an invitation to wear your values. Each bag helps replenish our soil and sequester carbon. It’s an opportunity to participate in a solution—one where you look good and feel good at the same time.
When I set out to create Poppy, selecting materials was a forethought, not an after-thought. As a company founder, I was only interested in this business if I could feel good about the role I was playing in our environment and our children's futures while doing so. My criteria were simple:
 
  1. It had to be safe for me and baby to be around. That meant no endocrine disrupters or off-gassing that could cause respiratory problems. That's a hard no for PVC-based vegan leathers.
  2. It had to be safe for the people who make a living producing materials. That meant tanned cow leather wouldn't cut it since 80% of the worlds leather is tanned using chrome.
  3. It had to biodegrade in a decent amount of time. Vegan leathers made out of PVC and PU (virtually all other vegan leather bags) will take approximately 500 years to biodegrade, and will pollute waterways with micro-plastics in the process.
  4. Ideally, the production of the material would have a positive impact on the environment, and work to sequester carbon and support biodiversity.

    • The 'leather' Poppy is made out of comes from a cactus farm in Mexico. How cool is it that we can make rich, buttery soft leather out of cactus!
    • This cactus farm serves as a natural carbon sink, sequestering carbon. From the farm's 14 acres, they are able to absorb 8,100 tons of CO2/year while at the farm they only generate 15.30 tons of CO2 annually. Hello, positive impact!
    • The cactus leaves are sun-dried, using no energy in the drying process.
    • They do not use an irrigation system for the cactus, it grows with rain water.
    • No trees were cut down to start the farm, the cactus used is native to region, and the farm is fully organic. 
    • The cactus plantation is perennial, meaning that they only plant one time and the plantation last for about 8 years
    • The selected cactus' thorns are very small so it’s easier and safer for the agriculture team to harvest.
Awesome, right? There are more and more emerging materials like cactus leather, and Poppy is committed to learning about them and evolving with the best materials as they are made available. We're not perfect, but know that a lot of thought (and expense) goes into making Poppy as sustainable as possible, while still being luxurious. 
Supporting Poppy is one way you can Vote with your Dollar. Learn more about Desserto Leather.