Everything you need to know about the leather industry.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, the leather industry slaughters more than a billion animals each year.
Let that sink in.
Whether you’re vegan or not, that stat is incredibly disturbing, but if you know anything about factory farming, this really shouldn’t come as a surprise. Like so many others, I’ve always justified buying leather because I assumed that leather was simply a by-product of the meat industry.
The leather misconception
But this is the misconception. I’m vegetarian, yet I justified buying products that are made from the skin of dead animals, because I assumed it would go to waste otherwise. The general misconception is that leather is simply a ‘by-product’ of factory farming, but we’ve truly been misled. Leather plays a prominent role in the world's economy, with an estimated global trade value of approximately $100 billion USD per year!
By buying leather brand new, you are still contributing directly to the demand and the horrific practices of factory farming used in its production.
Factory farming is part of the fast fashion industry
To produce leather, animals must endure the same horrors of factory farming. Overcrowding, confinement, non-anaesthetised castration, dehorning, skinning, starvation.
The list continues.
China and India are the biggest producers of leather worldwide, and as far as animal welfare laws go, neither countries are of exemplary standards. In certain parts of India for instance, cows are considered holy creatures and it is known that they are forced to march without food or water for days, to cross borders for the purpose of slaughter, so to avoid breaking local religious laws.
Additional horrific treatment takes place to encourage herd submissiveness, Beatings, stabbings and the use of chilli peppers which are rubbed into cow’s eyes. These practices barely scratch the surface.
In China, it’s quite common knowledge that cats and dogs are used for the purpose of leather production, and although a cat and or dogs life is no more important than a cow’s, unbeknown to the consumer, your favourite hand bag could be made from the skin of ‘man’s best friend’ due to the lack of regulations surrounding the production of leather, labelling and animal origin.
The environmental and health Impact of the leather industry
Another misconception is the notion that leather is an ethical alternative to faux-leather as cow skin is biodegradable. Leather undergoes a vigorous tanning process to prevent it from decomposing. By stabilising the collagen and protein fibres, leather can take up to 12 years to fully decompose. 12 years is a huge amount of time for a ‘natural’ material to sit in landfill.
During the 1800’s, animal skins were air dried and tanned with vegetable oils and tannins. Today, the industry is significantly different. We now use dangerous chemicals like Formaldehyde, Chrome, Natrium and Ammonium salts. Ok those words may not mean much to you, but over exposure to these chemicals have led to debilitating diseases and genetic deformities in future generations of those who work in the leather industry, not to mention the damaging effect the chemical waste has on our communities, waterways, ecosystems and wildlife.
Factory farming is the single largest, contributor to global warming and climate change.
According to PWC Australia, there are currently 28 million cattle across 200 million hectares here in Australia (2020) 200 million hectares that were once home to native wildlife and forests. Put very, very simply, the more forests we destroy to home and feed livestock, the less trees there are to clean the air of CO2. Additionally livestock also produce methane gases, and it’s said that a single cow produces 70 and 120 kg of methane per year. Methane has a global warming potential (GWP) 104 times greater than CO2 in a 20-year time frame, yet factory farming is only expanding.
It’s a wild, senseless world we live in.
What are the alternatives?
There are so many alternatives to leather but some can often be problematic. Leather production is an ancient ‘art’ and has been around for over 7000 years because of its amazing durability and longevity. So although some would argue that leather is the more sustainable option one must keep in mind the horrific supply chain and production processes in order to produce leather.
Although vegan leather is kinder to animals, majority of faux leather options are super unsustainable as they are often made from synthetic materials, some of which can be dangerous to humans and the environment. According to environmentalist and writer, Giulia Simolo “Some types of faux leather make use of petroleum-derived materials. These can include polyvinyl chloride (PVC) that can be harmful to health because it contains chlorine that also is bad for the planet as it causes pollution. PVC also contains toxic additives such as lead”
There is so much information out there, and constant research around our every purchase can be exhausting, thus making us more susceptible to greenwashing. Deceiving buzzwords like ‘faux’ ‘vegan friendly’ ‘green’ ‘imitation’ etc have flooded website about pages and clothing descriptions, but most of these terms aren’t actually regulated.
Unfortunately the leather debate is a vast spectrum of colours that nobody likes, you’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t, but by being aware of greenwashing and learning about alternative materials that exist, you’ll be on the right track to making better purchase decisions.
Buy second hand leather
There are so many beautiful second hand and vintage leather goods out there. By buying second hand, you are no longer, directly contributing to the demand of leather production. You are also giving that beautiful tooled leather handbag a second life and saving it from landfill for at least another few years. Be a legend with your unique handbag while doing your bit to care about the earth.
Buy from reputable alternative leather brands - Piñatex
Piñatex Piñatex Piñatex!! I am SO excited to tell you about Piñatex. Piñatex is an innovative sustainable, non-woven textile made from the waste fibres of pineapple leaves. Sourced and made in the Philippines, Piñatex has created new industry and provides additional jobs and income for farmers. Piñatex is a more sustainable alternative to leather and other petroleum based products by leaps and bounds and is comparable to animal leather in durability, texture, and versatility. Unlike animal leathers, no extra land, water, fertilisers and pesticides are required to produce Piñatex, as the by product from pineapples is used in its production, truly encompassing the cradle to cradle approach!
Although Piñatex is not yet fully biodegradable post manufacturing, it is compostable under the right conditions. It is an innovative material and Ananas Anam, the company that discovered and produce Piñatex, are on track to making it fully biodegradable. So watch this space!
Piñatex have also been certified as a ‘Vegan Fashion label’ by PETA AND have received PETA’s innovation award in 2015 alongside Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood and Simone Rocha.
I cannot express my excitement and love for this amazing material enough, and am so excited to see it grow in popularity, so here are a list of companies that are already using Piñatex to make their products
