As the vegan leather that was created by Asif Ali Gohar enters another round of improvements and another year of growth, there are many changes. Today we will look at if there are changes being made to his original process or if there is a change in the leather itself, or if it will continue to remain true to it’s roots. There are certainly benefits to change as well as many benefits of staying consistent, so let’s see what approach was decided upon.
Are you currently using the original process that you created?
We are currently using a process that is very close to the original. There have been a few alterations on how much water is used in each step, on how the water is recycled or disposed of, and a few other minor changes. The way I had created it was on a quite small scale so there has been adjustments needed to scale it up to larger amounts.
Is anyone working on a new way to do things or changing the process at all?
Currently there are some ongoing changes being made, and there is some research into ways to make bigger changes as well. I feel that there can be better results from scaling it up to larger production amounts and that the returns on this will be both monetary as well as environmental.
If you are changing it, what are the main reasons for that?
The main reason for the change is to be more efficient. We may be able to do it with smaller spaces, with less water, and we want to create less waste products. These changes will help to save money and allow the employees and the teams that we have to receive raises and to help maintain the standard of living increases, but it will also be better for the environment. Less waste is always something that we will strive for.
Do you bring in new eyes to adjust things or are you working with the same original people to improve as they go?
The current approach is a bit of both. We need the main people who have been there since the beginning to help anyone new to fully understand the process quickly, and we need new people with new ideas to come inject that excitement into the business. There is always a natural growing process where some people will leave for other opportunities, be relocated, have family concerns, and many other things that can have them step away for leave or for a short time, or take new jobs. In each instance they will need to be replaced, so we try to replace them with someone who is open to new ideas and that can bring a different experience to the team. Having a mix of all experience levels and backgrounds lets us gather the best ideas and rule out ones that will not work well.