Fish skin leather – ‘In the absence of local expertise, we’re doing it ourselves, and 2025 has begun swimmingly’

Tasha Nathanson, Minh Thieu and Lacey Reid.

As we ‘fessed up last year in our Hero(ine)’s journey adventure tale, our plan to eco-innovate in leather production was hobbled by the lack of leather technology training in the U.S. and Canada. While artisans craft small-batch, one-of-a-kind hand-made leathers in kitchens and back yards across the continent, there isn’t the expertise here to lead production of consistent, industrial scale and quality leather, much less to improve on standard global practices and formulas. Other North American would-be fish leather companies have either given up or shipped the process out to overseas companies for business-as-usual. We tenaciously kept to the more difficult but transformative plan of focusing on innovation to clean up leather manufacturing, establishing tanning close to the source of the fish skins, and a strategy of transparency to ensure we will provide and prove a clean supply chain for our eventual customers so they can gain the certifications and meet the requirements of growing global fashion regulations. Yes, that’s harder – but it’s better.

We brought Lacey Reid on board. She comes with a PhD in Chemistry, a track record in biomaterials research, a curious mind and a penchant for sustainability. Her task was initially to manage and re-stock our research facility as we prepared to resume activities. She would also be there to capture and record new technology and to develop learning materials for future staff, as well as probe the potential for adjacent research to further our mission of creating shared prosperity through relentless innovation (re)using sustainable resources for a clean, strong, and beautiful future. We are thrilled to have such a bright and capable, eager and apt talent on our team.

Yet we still needed that specific skillset that only comes from leather technology training, as this is an area of applied chemistry that also involves an element of artistic judgment, plus a solid knowledge of industrial standards and testing. We had found our guy but it was a year-and-a-half long process with immigration to get him here. He has just arrived! With an Honour’s degree in Leather Technology from ICLT at University of Northampton - Institute for Creative Leather Technologies in the UK and a thesis steeped in sustainability, waste reduction, problem-solving and bio-innovation, in addition to several years’ experience in conventional tanneries, Minh Thieu will lead 7 Leagues Leather’s fish leather product development for the next leg of the voyage, in tandem with Lacey.

Our R&D team is at last in place and keen to navigate us from R&D to sales this year! We continue to thank FPInnovations for their belief in us and for hosting our startup in their facility on UBC campus. We promise to get to market (and off to our own tannery) asap now that we have what we need to make that happen.