Luxury and high street fashion brands are at risk of funding Amazon deforestation because of their links to the leather industry, new research published this week has revealed.

We’ve seen a flood of news concerning vegan-friendly alternatives to leather, and not the plastic variety but novel materials made from cacti, mushrooms, mangos and even grapes. Major fashion brands are getting in on it too, so why the sudden interest in animal-free leather and are there any downsides?