Olive Tan Leather will be seen for the first time in a new Bentley model to be revealed at Monterey Car Week, in California, on Aug 18.
The distinctive feature of this leather lies in a sustainable leather tanning process that uses an organic by-product of the olive oil industry.
Derived from waste water extracted during the olive pressing procedure, the tanning agent remains free of harmful metals, minerals and aldehydes.
The technique requires less water than a conventional tanning process and also offers a higher concentration of renewable chemicals. The resulting organic leather is described as incredibly soft.
Bentley Motors is the first car maker to use the industry-leading Olive Mill Wastewater (OMW) technology from the leather tannery, Pasubio SpA.
The British marque already uses leather hides that are a by-product of the meat industry and highly traceable.
Annually, global leather production recycles an estimated 270 million hides that would otherwise go to landfill. Leather manufacturing is regarded as a safe, compliant and heavily regulated means of recycling a co-product of the meat industry into a desirable and sustainable material.
Bentley is already planning to offer sustainable, OMW-derived leather as an option across the product range.
“Leather is an integral component of our car interiors and a prime element in creating Bentley’s signature finish. It is also hard-wearing – especially important as 84 per cent of all Bentley cars built are still on UK’s roads,” said Bentley technical expert leather Marc Stang.
“We use eight to 12 hides per car, all of which are sourced in the European Union. Bentley also avoids using hides linked to deforestation, reflecting the work within our supply chain to encourage greener processes."
