In the long and fascinating history of Poltrona Frau's core material, leather, today there is a department that works for the three Company divisions: the Pelle Frau® Research and Development Centre.

Inside, the legacy of more than a century of knowledge is the basis of constant challenges in the search for new frontiers on aesthetics and performance. The Research Centre is the sole reference in the research and development of the leathers, defining the technical and organoleptic parameters of each Pelle Frau® leather, which not only allow for production control and uniformity, but also for the implementation of their processes over time. Today, production circularity and the analysis of the real impact of the entire product life cycle (LCA) are becoming increasingly important.

After the revolutionary study of the Color System Frau®, in 1986, work focused on customising the collections according to the project, the application sector and the originality of each individual collection. A room full of colours and leathers with different origins and processes developed in collaboration with the most qualified tanneries are the background to this technical and creative department. All the proposals of the new Pelle Frau® collections for the Residential, Custom Interiors and Interiors in Motion business units are born here. A unique reality in the furniture sector created with the awareness that leather, for Poltrona Frau, is not only a design material, but also a tool for a more environmentally friendly production.

Thirty years of research into reducing the environmental impact during the processing and transformation of leather resulted in Pelle Frau® ColorSphere Impact Less, a chrome-free tanned leather that reduces the total use of chemicals by 15% and water consumption by 10%, for a 10% reduction in CO2 emissions during the tanning process. A proactive and strategic commitment by Poltrona Frau.