Stella McCartney becomes the first fashion designer to launch Standard and ground-breaking KOBA Fur-Free Fur the worlds first faux-fur made using plant-based ingredients.

Vegetarian and cruelty-free from the first day, Animal Welfare is at the core of the brand's ethics and Stella is incredibly excited to push the boundaries of sustainability with her signature Fur-Free Fur, and offer her customers an ethical choice for the planet.

ECOPEL's KOBA faux fur is made from recycled polyester and 100% Dupont Sorona plant-based fibers, making it the first faux furs commercially available using bio-based ingredients. The new KOBA Fur-Free Fur can be recycled at the end of its longevity, helping to ensure it never ends up in waste and closes the fashion loop, making Stella incredibly emotional as she pushes into the circular. It is a 37% plant-based Sorona material that uses 30% less energy and produces 63% less greenhouse gas than conventional synthetic systems.

Stella McCartney commented, I'm incredibly excited about this new eco-friendly, bio-based Fur-Free Fur. It is another big step toward the future of fashion being sustainable and animal free.

Developed by ECOPEL, KOBA combines up to 100% DuPont Sorona polymer homofilament fibers to provide a soft, versatile and long-lasting fur alternative, and is the first commercially available faux fur using bio-based ingredients.

Renee Heinz, Global Marketing Director, Dupont Bio Materials, comments: Stella McCartney is now refraining from using more animal-based furs, and this collaboration allows her to go hand in hand with both her cruelty-free and sustainability values. With KOBA faux fur, we expect to see the use of bio-based products in the textile and fashion industry to gain even greater use and acceptance.

Comment from Christopher Sarbati, CEO of ECOPEL, We have been working with Stella McCartney for many years and we have been positively impacted by her values. Not only are we proud to offer animal-friendly alternatives to fur but we are also proud to be traveling less and less in designing new ways to create faux fur.From recycling to bio-based, we are support switching to more sustainable products.

This first onyx black KOBA Fur-Free Fur coat, described by Alder-Nappa, is a prototype that was exclusively unveiled at the Summer 2020 event, front row by Natalia Vodianova. The KOBA Fur-Free Fur will be created as part of the Stella McCartney Collection from 2020 onward.