“We began life with a simple idea: to clean up India’s holiest river,” says Ankit Agarwal. “In the process, we’ve discovered a material growing on our factory floor that could one day replace Animal leather for good. Sometimes ground-breaking ideas come from unlikely situations, and we want to thank The Earthshot Prize for recognising ours.”

It is indeed an unlikely idea, at first glance. Seven years ago, Ankit Agarwal saw worshippers poisoning their holy river. Today, Fleather is cleaning the river and helping those who worship it too.