New Delhi: Eco-friendly and cruelty-free car interiors are slowly, but surely becoming the norm in the auto industry as top luxury car makers are now paving the way for car seats made from different plat fibres such as those produced from eucalyptus or soybean or other sustainable materials. From Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) to Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari, most car makers are increasingly ditching the leather for car interiors.
The seats of the Range Rover Evoque, for example, are upholstered with premium alternatives to leather. According to JLR, the optional “Kvadrat” premium textile is made with 53 recycled plastic bottles per car.
Consumers can also choose “Eucalyptus Melange” textile, produced from natural fibres that need significantly less water when growing, JLR claims in its website.
From wheel arches to carpets, more than 16kg of recycled materials feature throughout this luxury SUV, diverting thousands of tonnes of plastic from landfill, it says.
The Ford Motor Company has been using soybean-based foam as a key material in the seat cushions, seat backs and head-rests in a lot of its vehicles since 2011.
In fact, Ford Motor now features at least eight sustainable materials in its vehicles – soy, wheat, rice, castor, kenaf (hibiscus), tree cellulose, jute and coconut.
It’s not just the seats where sustainable materials are being now used. According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), a non-profit organisation, many cars come with the option to select leather-free interiors, including steering wheels or gear shifts.
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.
