Lionfish leather and python handbags: These accessories are made from exotic invasive animals

Leather has been a staple of human fashion for millennia, but the fashion industry is increasingly embracing more sustainable alternatives.

Traditional leather comes mainly from cows, and cattle farming is linked to deforestation, habitat loss and land degradation. The tanning process is polluting and can use up to 50,000 liters (13,209 gallons) of water for each ton of raw animal hides.

Vegan and lab-grown leathers are on the rise, but one US company is supplying fashion houses with the real thing — only rather than using cattle, it’s sourced from invasive exotic animals.

Pythons from Florida’s Greater Everglades, silverfin carp from the Mississippi River Basin and lionfish from Caribbean reefs are the three alien invasive species that Miami-based startup Inversa currently harvests. The leather it produces is eventually turned into products such as clothing, bags and other accessories by fashion brands such as Gabriela Hearst, Khaite, Catherine Holstein and Johanna Ortiz.

“This all starts with a fish,” said Inversa CEO Aarav Chavda, who co-founded the company in 2020. “I’ve been a scuba diver for almost 15 years now, and I’ve just been obsessed with the problem of the invasive lionfish and what it’s doing to coral reefs throughout the Caribbean and the Mediterranean — taking a sledgehammer to native biodiversity on those reefs.”