The plant-based fabric, called Banbū, was developed by von Holzhausen and first launched back in 2020 as a durable alternative to both leather derived from animals and vegan leathers made using plastic-based materials like polyurethane. Banbū is made by chopping up bamboo and extracting fibers that are spun into a yarn that can be woven into fabrics. Those fabrics are then treated with a plant-based topcoat sealant, according to von Holzhausen’s website. The company says Banbū is as “buttery-soft and smooth as lambskin” and claims the material is one-third the weight of cow leather while also taking less than 250 days to biodegrade in a landfill.
Bamboo plants are highly renewable, growing quickly without the need for fertilizers or irrigation, allowing the plant to be harvested sustainably without deforestation. Herman Miller claims the plant-based leather reduces the chair’s carbon footprint by “up to 35 percent,” but von Holzhausen hasn’t shared specifics on how it makes Banbū, including the environmental impact of breaking down the bamboo and what other materials are used in the manufacturing process.
Using bamboo to make pseudo-leather might have a smaller carbon footprint than using real leather from cows, but the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman still feature complicated designs, with layers of wood veneers that are glued together and molded into shape using presses that apply heat and pressure.
If you want to keep the environmental impact of your furniture in mind but still want a Herman Miller in your home, an alternative is the company’s Eames Molded Plastic Armchair. Although they use a similar manufacturing process involving heat, the molded seats are made using 100 percent postindustrial recycled plastic instead of lumber or bamboo, allowing them to be recycled again when you’re ready to redecorate. (Although they aren’t quite as lounge-able.)