With a high dose of organic change in various elements, people now prefer organic solutions in every aspect. Considering this, Adrián López Velarde and Marte Cázarez, both hailing from Mexico, decided to enter the leather market with an organic yet original solution. Leather market is the widest worldwide and to replace animal leather with organic leather was a bold decision.
After two years of research and development, the duo decided to replace animal leather with Cactus leather which is also known as Vegan leather. They created a cactus based material which offers sustainability and aesthetic beauty and aptly named it Desserto. They decided to leave their jobs and start Adriano Di Marti, a company to focus on developing Desserto and launched it in 2019. 
An alternative to leather, Desserto is a highly sustainable plant based material made from cactus, often distinguished by its great softness at touch while offering a great performance for a wide variety of applications and complying with the most rigorous quality and environmental standards. The aim is to offer cruelty free, sustainable alternatives, without any toxic chemicals, phthalates and PVC. Desserto, is partially biodegradable and has the technical specifications required by the fashion, leather goods, luxury packaging and furniture industries. Desserto has been certified by various organisations like USDA Organic, PETA, etc.
Responsible innovation
Desserto leather is innovative development in a responsible way. It is made out of matured cactus leaves without actually damaging the plant. It is collected from a self owned ranch in a state named Zacatecas in Mexico.
After cutting off mature leaves, they are dried under sun for three days naturally to achieve the desired humidity. Cacti in the ranch are grown naturally and no pesticides are used while cultivating them. The selected cactus is very resilient and strong, it can handle low temperatures during winter without dying and its thorns are very small so it’s easier and safer for the agriculture team to harvest. 
The cactus plantation is perennial, meaning that Desserto only plants one time and the plantation lasts for about 8 years, different from other C3 plantations such as corn which has to be cultivated, harvested and then cultivated again annually. The cactus species Desserto cultivates is native and typical of the region, it is a CAM (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism) plant, its metabolism protects water and it doesn’t operate during daytime generating chlorophyll as most plants do.
Desserto offers sustainability by enriching the soil micro-flora and fauna through native organic cactus afforestation, besides, huge savings in water as no irrigation is applied. Cactus feedstocks are maintained by using technological development without actually harming the farm.
Why Cactus?
Cactus is a natural carbon sink, it has a great CO2 sequestering capacity, from 14 acres of cactus farm 8100 tons of CO2 is generated every year. And to create one linear meter of Desserto, only 3 matured cactus leaves are required approximately.
Cactus naturally regenerates soil. It only takes 200 liters to grow one kilogram of cactus biomass which water is absorbed by the plant itself from humidity present in the atmosphere, compared to 1000 liters (on average) to grow the same kilogram from other crops. Cactus is a tough and resilient species, adapted to extreme conditions and able to survive in areas where nothing else will grow. Cacti can grow in severely degraded soils, which are inadequate for other crops.
Desserto was successfully showcased in October 2019 in Milan, Italy, turning into a truly organic substitute for animal leather.
