In an effort to move towards sustainability, Mini is no longer offering leather as an option for your car’s interior. This is a big move considering that more than half of all their cars sold last year were fitted with leather.

Mini is thinking ahead

According to Autocar, Mini’s head of design, Oliver Heilmer, is committed to making vehicles as sustainable and future-friendly as possible. Ending the use of leather is one of a number of steps the British car company has taken to achieve that. Additionally, it’s now manufacturing seats entirely out of recycled material, and the underneath lining out of 70% recycled material.

“We don’t need leather anymore in the future,” says Heilmer. “We will have modern and high-value products without leather.” The carmaker is looking to use materials that are both recycled and luxurious, minimising the carbon footprint of each vehicle while still retaining the essential Mini-ness that makes the car so fun to drive.

Moving ahead, Heilmer says careful consideration will be taken when choosing to add or subtract something from future vehicles. Its plan is to add sustainability features while removing anything that’s not green, without compromising on ease of use and enjoyability.

Like this, more and more car companies are going greener, the most notorious development in this realm being an increase in electric vehicles. It’s exciting to see sustainability being applied not just to the engine, but holistically too.

(Source: Autocar, via The Next Web)