The Forbes article “Social entrepreneur creates a plastic-free substitute for everything from leather to latex” details the journey of 22-year old Zimri T. Hinshaw, founder and CEO of Bucha Bio (SOSV IBNY02 2021). Hinshaw’s business model has evolved from designing jackets from sustainable leather-like material, the article reports, to “developing a plant-based, sustainable, customizable material that can be used instead of everything from leather to latex, selling it to car manufacturers, interior design companies, and fashion brands, among others.”

The startup plans to create formulations of “composite materials, using a renewable bacterial-nanocellulose as an ingredient in what he calls a ‘library’ of biopolymers,” Forbes reports. Bucha Bio aims to outsource production and expand both the reach of their sustainable materials and their impact on the industry.