Eco-leather Corp., a company that makes breathable leather made from chicken feathers, is working with Nike and Puma to develop an athletic shoe made out of non-toxic materials, Fast Company reports. Eco-leather is the brainchild of Richard Wool, a chemist at the University of Delaware who uses techniques developed in the aerospace industry to turn chicken feathers, combined with natural fibers and plant oil resins, into footwear soles. Wool says that there are 6 billion tons of chicken feather fibers that are a waste stream material, and a cost for the companies that have to deal with waste disposal procedures. In 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency honored him with the green chemistry academic award. Eco-leather aims to produce alternatives to the leather production process, which, according to the non-profit Blacksmith Institute, is a top toxic threat, as it employs cancer-causing chemicals and toxic heavy metals including chromium.
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