The global economy runs on production and consumption, creating a relentless demand for the world’s most precious resources. It’s an unsustainable system, one that, without care, will lead to a complete depletion of the earth’s natural resources. That’s why innovative solutions are needed to replace raw materials. This startup has turned to biotechnology to literally grow leather. The company uses DNA-sequence editing to make ordinary cells transform into little factories that churn out the main structural protein found in animal skin, and then use that protein to produce an artificial “hide” that can be tanned and fashion into various products.