For the Spring 2025 season, P448 Project Sustainability launched its third invasive fish leather capsule with the bluestripe snapper, known locally in Hawaii by its Tahitian name, taape. The launch follows previous P448 invasive fish leather capsules, which included the lionfish and carp. This is a dedicated capsule to bring awareness to the issues posed by taape to Hawaii’s fragile ecosystems and highlights a new alternative to the leather category with invasive fish.
Easily identified by its electric-blue stripes and lemon-yellow skin, the bluestripe snapper is a striking tropical fish. Taape were first introduced to the eastern shores of the island of Oahu, Hawaii, seven decades ago from the South Pacific with the original intent to provide additional fishing opportunities and food sources for Hawaii. Taape, which naturally school in the hundreds and even thousands, quickly swelled to an unwelcome spread across the 1,500-mile Hawaiian archipelago, ranging from shallow reefs to ocean depths of over 6,400 feet. As an invasive species, the taape compete with native fish for food and habitat, while also causing losses for the local fishing industry by invading and even taking over local fishing spots, pushing native fish out of their homes.
Through its partnership with Conservation International—a leading environmental non-profit focused on science, policy and collaboration with businesses, governments and communities—P448 has sourced 2,000 taape skins from the island of Molokai for this capsule collection. This collaboration builds on the Taape Project, launched in 2020 by Conservation International Hawaii in partnership with local nonprofit Chef Hui, to encourage consumption of the invasive reef fish, supporting the local economy, improving island food security and reducing the species’ environmental impact. CI’s partnership with P448 is the first outside of the food industry, connecting local fishers to the fashion industry to utilize the skins of the caught taape fish for footwear manufacturing. This will create a new market for taape skins while offering a sustainable business opportunity for the community.
“Throughout the globe, climate change is expected to exacerbate the impacts of invasive species. We need to be developing solutions to address this challenge while meeting other growing needs such as food security and community resilience. We are honored to be a part of this innovative collaboration because it does exactly that. By removing taape, the initiative benefits Hawaii’s native marine life, feeds communities and supports the local economy,” said Matt Ramsey, senior director of Conservation International’s Hawaii program. “Additionally, with the lack of government-led programs to tackle the challenge of taape, this initiative directly addresses these gaps.”
Molokai, where the fish were sourced by net for this capsule, is one of the most rural of Hawaii’s major islands, with a population of 7,400 nestled between Oahu and Maui. The island remains untouched by mass tourism. In fact, there are no traffic lights on the island and no buildings can be constructed taller than a palm tree. In essence, it is considered the last real Hawaii, in which the land is chief and man is servant. With an economically challenged community, there is a deep-rooted value in talking care of your neighbor on Molokai. Thus, P448 is partaking in the circular economy of this project, as after the fish had been skinned, the meat was donated to a local charter school and allocated as food security for people in need within the community. The fish bones were used as fertilizer for a local farm, while the rest of the fish were donated to science research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to aid in its reproduction study on taape.
While taape has been tanned by native islanders, it has never been processed to taape fish leather on a commercial scale. It takes months of research, testing and trial samples to ensure that the skins are able to be properly used in a wearable yet durable pair of P448 sneakers. With sustainability in mind, P448 partnered with Aquaborne, a tannery that specializes in aquatic leather manufacturing utilizing only eco-friendly materials and processes (with no heavy metals nor chromium-6) to transform the taape into fish leather. The proprietary hybrid tanning method that combines an organic tanning agent with vegetable tanning materials is chrome-free, metal-free, aldehyde-free and glutaraldehyde-free—plus it is biodegradable. Developing a more efficient tanning approach, Aquaborne reduced the taape tanning process to just six steps, eliminating the pickling and basification steps. Thus, with its significant reduction in salts and acids, the process saved 80% of water and energy used when compared to traditional tanning processes. With a 7-10 day start-to-finish process, the end result is a soft, supple yet pliable taape fish leather of which two skins are utilized per shoe. For coloring, wet-end leather dyes from Stahl that are free of N-methylpyrrolidone were utilized in the process. These dyes also comply with the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL).
“Tanning cold-blooded fish skins is completely different than tanning hides from cattle or other warm-blooded animals,” said Nodar Narsavidze, managing partner at Aquaborne. “Layered with the fact that each fish skin is unique, the process can become quite complex as what can work with one fish skin may not apply to another fish skin.”
P448 collaborates with certified suppliers, compliant materials, local factories and eco-friendly components. In this capsule, P448 has recycled insoles, Global Recycled Standard-certified bottoms, bio-based synthetic leather lining, recycled cotton laces, recycled suede tongue and heel trim from Evolo, as well as ByPell recycled leather on main body. The low-top John sneaker is detailed with taape fish leather on its heel in a rainbow of colors, like yellow, blue, orange, fuchsia and vanilla. This is a limited capsule, available at p448.com. Ten percent of the purchase price will help Conservation International protect oceans around the globe.
