The sheep & goat skins we use for our production of leather garments are by products of the food industry.
As there is consumption of meat & dairy products, hides & skins will remain.
As a global community we have the responsibility to recycle into leather instead of sending it to landfill.
Modern leather manufacturing recycles around millions of hides a year, that might otherwise go to waste & landfill sites, posing a huge environmental & biological problem.
Animals are not bred to make leather
When we think about “green alternatives to leather” it’s important to examine their environmental credentials. For example apple leather is made from at least 50% polyurethane – essentially it’s apple waste held together by some element of plastic, although you usually have to work hard to find that out.
We support a consumer’s right to choose whether or not to wear or use leather and the increasing choice provided by emerging non-animal alternatives.
However, there is an alarming lack of transparency around the sustainability/environmental claims that can accompany these materials, which are often overstated or misleading.
Leather is a highly versatile, widely used material. Responsibly made, it is highly regulated & certified with strong environmental credentials.
There are strict requirements regarding the use of chemicals in the leather industry. It is restricted by legal requirements & by many voluntary industrial initiatives which are committed to eliminating potentially harmful substances from the supply chain.
The leather industry has established certified standards that consumers can use to better understand the provenance of the leather & leather products they buy.
Leather does not come from a fossil fuel base.
Leather is a bio-based material with a tradition nearly as long as
mankind, while global warming takes off with the discovery of oil.
If we were serious about preventing global warming, the most reliable action would be to avoid using any fossil fuel-based materials.The market for bio based and synthetic alternatives to leather is increasingly aiming to replace animal-based materials with vegan alternatives.
Synthetic materials competing with leather can win over their lower prices, they are often easier to be processed & can be manufactured as a continuous material according to industrial needs in roll-to-roll production lines.
Most of these leather substitutes rely on fossil-based coatings to become water repellent and durable. The processing of fossil-based raw materials often requires the application of solvents, cross linking agents, or plasticisers to achieve suitable material properties.