Poltrona Frau: sustainability travels across leather

Interview with Daniele Gardini R&D Leather Manger Poltrona Frau

Poltrona Frau was founded in 1912 in Turin by Renzo Frau and from the early 1960s to the present has been based in Tolentino, Marche. The core business was clear since the beginning: to manufacture furniture that didn’t have to compromise between quality and comfort. Not surprisingly, the brand's name brings together "Poltrona" and "Frau," two terms that combine many meanings. These include the ability to create and upholster seats of incredible design, for public and private environments: from cinemas and theaters to luxury sports cars, passing through living, marine & yachting projects, airports and aviation. Inspired by tradition and designed with the future in mind, they deliver excitement and meet, in a sustainable way, the needs of a demanding and sophisticated international customers.

Can you tell us how the professional collaboration with DANI came about?
Leather is the main material of Poltrona Frau, and working in this world represents for me more a passion than a profession. 

I love the infinite variations of this timeless material, which is unique to touch and that it hides within it a variety of technical innovations that make it not only beautiful, but also increasingly sustainable and environmentally friendly.

The collaboration with DANI began 20 years ago.  A perfect harmony was established between our Pelle Frau® Research and Development Center and the Vicenza-based company, made up of constant challenges in search of new frontiers on aesthetics and performance. The work focuses on the customization of collections based on the design, application sector and originality of each individual collection and led us to launch the Impact Less project on the occasion of our 110th anniversary.

You created the neologism "leathership" can you tell us more about it?
Leathership defines our expertise and culture in the leather world, and has become a registered trademark for premium quality. This approach and commitment is the result of 110 years of refinement and deep experience in craftsmanship. Master artisans continue to pass on their skill, which has been developed from generation to generation.

Manufacturing expertise has always been combined with materials research to get the most out of the exclusive Pelle Frau leather, modernizing it while maintaining its unique characteristics of softness, warmth and aesthetics. The most creative and technologically advanced materials are treated with the same attention and enthusiasm.

Modernity today rhymes with sustainability
Leather is perhaps the oldest example of a circular economy in human history. It is a renewable, naturally occurring material that has been used for thousands of years for its strength and durability characteristics. 

The tanning industry therefore recovers an enormous volume of by-products generated by the food industry and, through a process that has undergone constant and continuous green upgrading for decades, transforms it into an iconic material of the highest added value.

On the sustainable innovation side, Poltrona Frau is continuously undertaking research to make products whose impact in environmental terms is gradually reduced. Impact Less is the result we have arrived at: a leather tanned with components that are sustainable and chromium-free, reducing the use of chemicals by 15% and water consumption by 10% compared to standard production. To offset CO₂ emissions, we have also joined projects approved by the UN Climate Change Convention.

By 2030 all our collections will be made with Impact Less leather.