Inversa Coral Reef Restoration: Turning Lionfish Into Leather

Inversa coral reef restoration uses invasive lionfish to support damaged marine ecosystems. The Great Barrier Reef, a vast coral system off the coast of Queensland, Australia, covers around 133,000 square miles and is one of the natural world’s great wonders. However, warming waters and other pressures have killed large portions of the reef. Climate change is only one threat facing coral ecosystems: boats, yachts and cruise ships can damage reefs with anchors and chains, while chemical residues can also affect coral health. In Atlantic waters, particularly around Florida and the Caribbean, invasive lionfish cause further harm to reefs and native biodiversity.

Inversa, a company that initially launched as a food supplier for restaurants and has now expanded into leather production, is investing in producing a type of exotic leather made from lionfish, which aims at saving and building back the coral reefs. The idea behind Inversa coral reef restoration is that removing invasive lionfish could help native marine life recover.

The start-up has already launched partnerships with a number of brands, such as Teton Leather Company, for which it provides lionfish leather for clutches and watches, and P448, an Italian footwear brand that it has worked together with on sustainable leather shoes. Now, Inversa is hoping its story will resonate with more global brands in order to achieve its goal of building the coral reef back better by removing more of this bothersome species. These collaborations allow Inversa coral reef restoration to connect environmental action with commercial fashion products.

However, using lionfish to produce leather creates a huge dilemma as it takes us back to using animal-based materials. The process of using fish for leather is often considered to have originated from indigenous practices and, while the company doesn’t use traditional resources and chemicals in its process, it was the root for Inversa’s concept. However, Inversa coral reef restoration also raises important ethical questions for consumers who avoid animal-derived materials.

The animal, being a breed that has been released into the wild by humans, doesn’t have a natural predator, hence it is free to mate at a rapid speed and kill up to 79% of young marine life. Despite the uncertainty around the use of animal-based materials, the Inversa team have stuck to their message of only creating a positive change to the environment, while still recognising that it is a material that will not appeal to everyone, but is hoping it appeals to clients based on its ability to solve an increasingly worrisome problem.

Furthermore, Inversa has a net-zero production process from start to finish, which means that even the way they catch lionfish has close to zero carbon emissions. The company is also intentional in its tanning method, using less than 200 millilitres of water per skin, as well as its dying and finishing of the material. The final material is very thin and therefore extremely versatile and flexible, allowing for it to be utilised in many different applications. Inversa’s current clients mentioned that the material is not just perfect for clutches, bags and watches, but for many other fashion accessories too. The environmental value of Inversa coral reef restoration therefore depends on responsible fishing, transparent processing and evidence of ecological benefit.

Supporters argue that Inversa coral reef restoration could create value from an invasive species while reducing pressure on native fish populations, although its wider impact should continue to be assessed transparently.

Would you consider wearing leather made from an invasive species if it helped protect marine ecosystems? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Information sourced on fashionunited.uk and inversa.com

Featured image by Diane Picchiottino on Unsplash

Image 1 by LI FEI on Unsplash

Image 2 by Walti Demut on Unsplash