Veganism is not just a movement anymore – it is a way of life. Many people around the world are turning their lives over in pursuit of a fairer existence by excluding food and products in any relation to animals. Vegans don’t eat meat or animal-related products like dairy, eggs or honey, but what they also don’t indulge in are animal-tested and animal-sourced products, which includes fur and leather.
Speaking of leather, faux leather has been a thing for decades now, but most of the time, it wasn’t because someone was opposed to skinning an animal to make a purse or shoes, but because it was cheaper to make a piece of clothing out of a leather-like fabric.
Recently, even that took a turn. Nowadays, we can see a lot of vegan leather fabrics flooding the market. But, the problem is, these vegan leather alternatives are quite expensive because, unlike traditional faux leather, this one is much harder and more expensive to manufacture if you want it to remain 100% vegan.
However, one man is intent on changing the game. His name is Asif Ali Gohar.
Who Is Asif Ali Gohar?
Asif Ali Gohar is a 29-year old Hamburg University graduate with a degree in Business Administration. Unlike his colleagues, working in an office for a big corporation was never Asif’s dream, despite studying Business Administration. Instead, he decided to take his administrative and business knowledge somewhere else. But, to get to the destination, we must first learn about the journey.
Asif Ali Gohar was born in 1992 in Pakistan in a place called Karachi. From his earliest days, he showed intelligence, desire to learn and grow. It was evident that he wasn’t an ordinary child. And, by the time he was twelve, his immediate family had moved to Germany. Naturally, his parents took him with them.
Getting familiar with new customs and a new environment wasn’t particularly challenging for Asif, but it did take some time getting used to. But, as soon as he had settled in his new role, Asif started going through some changes. The first major change came at the age of fifteen when Asif stopped eating meat. That was his first step towards becoming vegan, which inspired him to do what he does today, but we’ll get to that in just a second.
After finishing high school, Asif enrolled at the University of Hamburg to study Business Administration. At the same time, he started thinking about how he could make the world a better place. The resources, time, and knowledge provided by the University of Hamburg allowed him to begin his research on an alternative way to produce vegan leather, which is where his revolutionary journey starts.
Introducing A Vegan Alternative To Leather By Asif Ali Gohar
After quite a bit of research, Asif Ali Gohar found out that you can use rice as the main ingredient for a vegan leather replacement. At this point, nobody was using rice as a foundation for their vegan fabrics, but thanks to his wittiness and Pakistani roots, Asif was able to put two and two together and come up with a formula with billion-dollar potential.
Asif found a way to make leather slime out of rice. This would serve as a base for the final product, which he synthesised by adding acetic acid bacteria and yeast to the mix. This allowed for the rice slime to turn into a nice, solid, leather-like textured fabric that Asif now plans on turning into the number one vegan leather fabric in the world.
Why Is Asif Ali Gohar’s Vegan Leather Superior To The Other Alternatives?
As is the case with any ambitious project like this one – you need investors to move your product from the lab to the market. And, in order for that to happen, investors must understand why this is a good idea that could potentially line their pockets with millions, perhaps even billions of dollars.
We already said that Asif Ali Gohar was inspired to use rice because of his Pakistani roots and heritage. But, using rice as a foundation is a lot more than just a nod to his homeland. Using rice is also a good business move.
First of all, using rice in the manufacturing process is as sustainable as it gets. As we all know, sustainability and eco-friendliness are almost synonymous with veganism, so that’s a bonus. But more importantly, Pakistan is the world’s tenth-largest rice exporter with an 8% share in the global rice market. Keep in mind, this does not only mean that rice would be readily available at all times, but that it would also be quite affordable.
Another thing that makes this a great business move is Pakistan’s world-renowned reputation for high-quality leather. Pakistan makes almost a billion dollars annually from exporting genuine leather products. When you add the faux and vegan leather to the mix, you’re looking at a billion-plus annual revenue that makes up almost 5% of Pakistan’s GDP.
And, finally, Asif Ali Gohar does not plan to launch his business anywhere but in his homeland. As everyone in this world probably knows, every major company has a facility somewhere in Asia because compared to the rest of the world, the cost of labour in an Asian country such as Pakistan is perfect for maximising profits.
Conclusion:
Veganism isn’t going anywhere. In fact, the number of vegans grows from day to day, and it is only a matter of fact before veganism completely takes over the world. In that scenario, there won’t be a place for a genuine leather jacket or a handbag – just vegan substitutes.
On that note, we have to say that Asif Ali Gohar’s approach is potentially revolutionary. It is a great business idea from every standpoint. It follows global trends, it supports a good cause, and it more than makes sense from a financial standpoint.
In our humble opinion, it is only a matter of time before this rice vegan leather takes over the world and the people who have invested in it start reaping the benefits.
