Stella McCartney becomes the first fashion designer to launch sustainable and ground-breaking KOBA® Fur-Free Fur – the world’s first faux-fur made using plant-based ingredients.

Vegetarian and cruelty-free since day one, animal welfare is at the heart of the brand’s ethos and Stella is incredibly excited to be pushing the boundaries of sustainability in her signature Fur-Free Fur, providing her customers with an ethical option that is also better for the planet.

KOBA® faux fur by ECOPEL is made with recycled polyester and up to 100 percent DuPont™ Sorona® plant-based fibers, creating the first commercially available faux furs using bio-based ingredients The new KOBA® Fur-Free Fur can be recycled at the end of its long life, helping to keep ensure it never ends up as waste and closes the fashion loop, something that Stella is incredibly passionate about, as she pushes toward circularity. It’s 37 percent plant-based Sorona® material means that it consumes up to 30 percent less energy and produces up to 63 percent less greenhouse gas than conventional synthetics.

Stella McCartney comments, “I am incredibly excited about this new eco-friendly, bio- based Fur-Free Fur. It is another big step toward the future of fashion being sustainable and animal free.”

Created by ECOPEL, KOBA® integrates up to 100 percent DuPont™ Sorona® polymer homofilament fibres to offer a soft, versatile, and long-lasting fur alternative, and the first commercially available faux fur using bio-based ingredients.

Renee Henze, Global Marketing Director, DuPont Biomaterials comments, “Stella McCartney has led the industry that is now increasingly moving away from the use of animal-based furs, and this collaboration allows both her cruelty-free and sustainability values to go hand in hand. With KOBA® faux fur, we expect to see the use of bio-based materials gain even greater use and acceptance in the textile and fashion industry.”

Comment from Christopher Sarfati, CEO of ECOPEL, “We’ve been working with Stella McCartney for several years and we have clearly been positively influenced by her values. Not only are we proud to offer animal-friendly alternatives to fur but are even more proud to take the road less traveled in designing new ways to create faux fur. From recycled to bio- based, we are supporting a transition toward more sustainable materials.

This first onyx black KOBA® Fur-Free Fur coat with Alter-Nappa detailing is a prototype revealed exclusively at the Summer 2020 show, front row on Natalia Vodianova. The KOBA® Fur-Free Fur will be developed as part of the Stella McCartney Collections from 2020.