3 min readPuneJun 10, 2026 01:12 PM IST Marlon Brando, Arnold Schwarzenneger, Tom Cruise, Shahrukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan. Some of the biggest names in films have helped make the leather jacket a symbol of swag and style. Leather has spread into a number of other locations as well, such as the auto industry, luxury products workshops, sports goods makers and industrial gear manufacturers. Environmentalists have been calling out the leather industry for its large carbon footprint, especially deforestation, the release of methane, a Greenhouse Gas, from cattle farms and the irreversible pollution of water bodies with chemicals used in tanning, and animal cruelty. While working in the laboratory at Pune’s Venture Center, a technology incubator hosted by the National Chemical Laboratory, Mumbai-based Jinali Mody had enough reason to think about the need for an alternative to leather. She had grown up scuba-diving from the age of 12 and had seen the oceans deteriorate. She once spent six months doing beach cleanups and conservation work. “I am passionate about climate change and studied climate change …