CES 2024: Fed Up With FineWoven? OtterBox Has A New Alternative Leather From An Unexpected Source

Vegan leather has been the material of choice for various fashionable industries for decades now, offering that same luxurious, smooth feel without the guilt of using animal products. That said, not all vegan leathers are made equal – some are made of unusual chemicals that might not hold up so well, while others can be prohibitively expensive, so much so that even actual leather seems more appealing. If you're on the hunt for a new source of vegan leather, specifically for a new phone case, there's one avenue you may not have considered yet: the desert.

As part of its 2024 Consumer Electronics Show offerings, OtterBox, manufacturer of phone cases and screen protectors, debuted its newest offering created in cooperation with Adriano di Marti: Desserto faux leather. This new material, already being used to create a line of protective phone cases, is made up of nopal cactus, also known as prickly pear, a flowering cactus breed native to Mexico and the American southwest. This resilient plant is the secret to OtterBox's newest efforts to increase the brand's overall environmental friendliness.

"Following an exhaustive development and engineering process, the organic content and performance stabilization of the material has been intelligently optimized to deliver the next generation in both biomaterials and sustainable efficiency," said Adrian Lopez Velarde, co-founder of Adriano di Marti, in a press release.

Desserto leather, harvested from nopal cacti, feels just as smooth and luxurious as genuine leather, though, unlike some faux leathers, it's just as durable as real leather. This makes it a great material for making smartphone covers, not to mention products like clothing, shoes, and accessories.

Of course, the big draw of the material is its environmental impact or lack thereof. Nopal cacti are extremely resilient and can thrive in extreme temperatures with very little water, so farming them for material has a relatively small carbon footprint. Since it's a plant, it works to actively reduce the presence of ambient carbon dioxide in and around the farm.

"OtterBox knows innovation occurs within every aspect of designing a product, including the materials," said OtterBox CEO JC Richardson. "We've teamed up with Adriano di Marti to source this innovative cactus-based biomaterial that is durable, beautiful, and sustainable to create a product unlike any other for both brands. These cases look good, feel good, and you can feel good about using it, too."

OtterBox will be integrating Desserto material products into its offerings in the near future, starting with the Symmetry Series Cactus Leather phone cases.