The Problem with Leather

The fashion industry is responsible for horrible abuse and the slaughter of billions of animals every year. Cows, cats, dogs, pigs, goats, sheep, kangaroos, rabbits, goats, foxes, raccoons, sneaks, seals, bear and many more are animals that people actually wear their body parts.

Living facts: The Cruelty Behind The Leather Industry

+Suffer is a major part of all animals in the fashion industry. Most of their lives they are abused and neglected, and their last days pass by in crowded trucks and narrow passages in which they’re rushed brutally to be hanged and slaughtered. They watch their companions go to their death and cannot run away, even when they try to.

+Most leather comes from countries where animal welfare laws are either non-existent or not enforced, such as India and China.

+ Leather is often mislabeled- you could be wearing dog leather and not even know it.

+ Have you ever wondered what is the difference between leather and fur? While fur is a very debatable material, leather is basically everywhere and most people wear it. But really, what’s the difference?  For the animals involved, leather production is just as painful and violent as the fur trade.

+Leather is linked to the meat and dairy industry but in addition to that, most leather comes from animals that were raised and killed not to be eaten, but exclusively for their skin.

Harmful Impact On People & The Environment

It’s Polluting & Dangerous

+ During the making of leather, factories use toxic chemicals. Most leather produced around the world is chrome-tanned, which is highly toxic and can even cause cancer.

+ Leather kills people too. In Bangladesh, which exports leather products to the U.S and to many other countries in the world, workers, including many children, are exposed to chemicals. Many of them have leukemia or some sort of toxic reaction. Most of them aren’t expected to live beyond age 50.

+ Raising animals for leather creates waste and pollution. So many trees are cut down in order to create space for factory farms and food.

Vegan fashion is way more environmentally friendly. The production of animal-derived materials doesn’t only hurt those poor animals but also the planet. There is much waste of water, usage of toxic chemicals, most of which are terrible for the environment and for people.

Luckily, there are so many amazing vegan alternatives to leather available out there, and the number of options is constantly growing.

Vegan Leather Alternatives

1)  Polyurethane (PU)

Polyurethane is a plastic material, that is very similar to leather and is used a lot in the fashion industry. A lot of high street stores, as well as some high-end ones, use this material to make lots of amazing bags, shoes, and accessories.  PU is less harmful to the environment than non recycled PU or PVC, however is still made out of plastic, which is not so great, but tends to last overtime and is known to be durable. Brands who use PU, for instance, are: Colibri Prais, Matt & Nat , Angela Roi and Stella McCartney.

There are brands using recycled PU which is way better! Labante London is one of them

2) Cork

This vegan, sustainable (and beautiful) fabric is made of the shell of the Oak tree. Trees aren’t harmed in the peeling process. Cork is classified as one of the most durable organic materials-  it’s water & fireproof, elastic and long-lasting and it’s actually eight times stronger than leather. Brands like Bobobark  and Fabrikk UK  use cork to make amazing clothes, bags accessories

read more about cork here

3) Appleskin / Apple Leather

Apple fiber leather is made by transforming waste from the apple industry into materials that can be used for fashion, footwear, and accessories. To make “Apple Skin”, apple waste is taken, dehydrated and grounded it into a very fine apple powder. The powder is then mixed with 50% biodegradable PU (polyurethane) (Or other ratio of %, depends on the purpose) and applied to a tear-resistant roll with cotton fabric. These rolls are then heated to produce a weather-resistant, durable fabric, which is then embossed to create different surface structures.

Sustainability: partially made from a natural waste product. Biodegradable within 3 years, if composted correctly. Sustainable when used with organic cotton. APPLE SKIN is OEKO-Tex Standard 100 certified.

Available to the public? Yes. Brands like Nuuwai already use and sell it.

4) Piñatex: Pineapple leather

I wrote a whole post about this amazing material, that is made out of pineapple leaf fibers, a by-product from the huge pineapple industry. to read more about it just click here

Brands like DAN & MEZ use Piñatex

5) Mushroom leather

The brands Muskin and Mycoworks are making a leather from mushroom mycelium. This sustainable, water-resistant- strong, versatile, flexible and animal–free material feels and performs like leather but without any cruelty towards living beings. I have not seen any brands using it yet so we will be waiting- there are rumors Stella McCartney will use this material for her bags soon 🙂

6) Grape leather (wine leather)

Vegea is a sustainable, innovative brand using the skins, stalks, and seeds of grapes, by-products from the wine industry, to make a beautiful alternative to leather. VegeaTextile’s alternative to the use of animal-derived leather can be used in the fashion, design, automotive and transportation industries.

7) Teak Leaf leather

This sustainable, hand-made, durable, environmentally friendly and gorgeous material is made from tree leaves. All the leaves are fallen-leaves and no trees (or animals) are harmed in the making of this material. The leaves are soaked in water, dyed, arranged flat together to dry. Drying the leaves bond them and provide a large sheet of the leaf material. After that, the leaf layers mended with cotton to provide a soft interior and structure.  Tree Tribe and Elpis Studio use leaf leather to make their bags and accessories.

8) Recycled Rubber

This material is usually made from recycled rubber from car and bike tires. The unique look of rubber and leathery texture,  its durability and versatility, make more and more designers to use this material to make bags, belts, wallets, soles of shoes, and now even apparel. Brands like Aria and Alchemy Goods use this material for some of their products.

9) Teather- Tea Leather

Researchers at Iowa State University have been using kombucha tea to make vegan leather. To make it- they used tea cellulose fibers that were brewed in a vat and fed with vinegar and sugar. Although it’s still are being tested, this super innovative material was successfully used to make prototype garments, including shoes and a vest. Cannot wait to see it in stores!

10) Soy leather

XXLab in Indonesia is creating a new soy leather made from the liquid waste in tofu production. This low-cost, sustainable fabric can be used for shoes, bags, and wallets. Soy leather is not available to the public yet and we will wait to see it used to make beautiful products in the near future.

11) Malai – Coconut leather

This material is made from entirely organic and sustainable bacterial cellulose, grown on agricultural waste sourced from the coconut industry. It’s a flexible, breathable, durable, water-resistant, bio-composite material with a feel comparable to leather. The company who produces this material, Malai, also makes amazing bags and accessories out of it that will be available soon.

12) Coffee Leather

We all love to drink it, but from now on we’ll be able to wear it, too. Made with sustainable recycled coffee, coffee beans, and coffee plant, this patented material was developed in Germany and if you were wondering, it actually does smells like coffee!

Now that you know about all the alternatives available, I hope you will choose better on your next shopping trip. With so many leather alternatives, I hope more and more brands will use those amazing animal, human and planet-friendly materials.  There is no need to harm animals in order to make AMAZING fashionable garments, bags, and accessories. The cruelty-free, sustainable and vegan market is constantly growing and hopefully, in a few years, animal-derived products will be a thing of the past.

13) Grass Leather

This unique material was made from real sustainable recycled hay, grass and flowers. The hayfield is pressed and applied to a layer base and has the natural mountain scent. It’s definitely one of the most outstanding materials I’ve seen in a long while.

14) Cartina- Recycled Paper Leather

Cartina: a beautiful, surprising material. It is the first and only fabric in the world made from recycled paper to be used as a substitute for leather in the fashion industry. It is a sustainable and super high quality; the material proves itself with its distinctive durability and longevity, as well as the contrasting fine and soft texture.

**This is not a sponsored post and it was NOT made in collaboration with any of the brands mentioned above. Only the Tree Tribe link is an affiliate.

Sources: Peta, Eluxe Magazine, Fast Company, Peaceful Dumpling, Clearly Veg, One Green Planet, Entrepreneur