One of the hardest products for a man to buy is a wallet. It is probably the most used item besides his phone. So many out there are bulky, boring or just plain ugly. Thanks to Tidal Vision, they are making wallets that are a little more exciting and definitely a conversation piece. Why? Because they are made out of naturally tanned and sustainably harvested Alaskan salmon leather right here in the USA. And no, they do not smell fishy!
Everyone is well aware of leather being a byproduct of the meat industry but not many people have considered the byproduct from the fishing industry. As Tidal Visions CEO, Craig Kasberg, explains, “Two billion pounds of seafood byproducts are thrown away each year in Alaska. By developing new technologies to upcycle these products, Tidal Vision is looking to add value to sustainable fisheries, reduce waste and provide quality consumer products such as durable aquatic leathers and, later, Chitoskin textiles.”
Related: Strong Body Makes Activewear from Crab Shells.
As for the wallets they come in two categories and five shapes:
The Full Wallet:
- Trifold
- Ladies Trifold
- Billfold
The Slim Wallet:
- Phone
- Minimalist
We rang up Craig to hear more about his new adventure:
What inspired you to start your company?
I grew up commercial fishing in a costal community in Southeast Alaska, I saw all the waste being produced as byproducts and set out and assembled a team to come up with sustainable ways to upcycle those byproducts. In Alaska, 2 billion pounds of seafood byproducts are still dumped into the ocean annually, posing an environmental threat and representing missed economic opportunities.
Tell us more about the salmon leather.
Our salmon leather is made from our process that uses no EPA regulated chemicals, and is the first to use all natural vegetable based tanning oils through the whole 3 week tanning process. We spent 6 months taking chrome based chemical tanning methods and converting every step to use an all natural replacement.
And your Chitoskin?
We invented a completely new way of extracting chitin/chitosan from crab and shrimp shells and just filed our second patent last week. Our chitosan is not only made in a new and eco-friendly way, it also has a higher molecular weight, which equates to a higher tensile strength. Because of it having a higher tensile strength it allows us to blend it in with yarn, which is then knit into our fabric, which gives the odorless properties throughout the fabric instead of just on the surface, and the chitosan’s properties last since it is structurally part of the fabric. You can’t do this with most fibers with chitosan from Asia since it does not have the tensile strength to have the durability necessary in clothing.
When will they be available?
Our chitoskin products will be available this September, currently we are assembling our full-scale chitosan extractor, which we are building in a conex container and will only use with certified sustainable crab fisheries.
Click on their Kickstarter (that was funded in 24 hours!) to learn more about these unique wallets.
