Vegan leather of course seems like the best option if you have pledged to avoid animal products in your diet and wardrobe or want to live more sustainably. However the differences between vegan leather and animal-derived versions are not as clear cut as you might hope.
With the debate rife after PETA supporters took to New York Fashion Week to protest the use of leather on American luxury brand Coach’s runway, GLAMOUR is here to demystify the differences…
Last year Portugal banned the term ‘vegan leather’ and France is considering follow suit. Apparently the Portuguese government felt the term was misleading for customers who believed ‘vegan leather’ was an all-natural product, when it’s often made from an array of plastic-based synthetics. Some versions aren’t even 100% vegan (but that’s a whole other case of greenwashing) although it’s key to keep in mind that leather footwear exports are worth $1.5billion to the Portuguese economy and are the country’s biggest export after cars, car parts and petroleum…
PETA Director of Corporate Projects, Yvonne Taylor, told GLAMOUR, “Regulations designed to restrict the use of the term “plant leather” are signs of the growing concern among industries that exploit animals that they will soon – rightly – be seen as relics of a time when we knew little about health, the environment, or animal welfare. The vegan leather boom shows no sign of slowing: the market is predicted to be worth over £67 billion by 2025.”
As is the case with so many areas of the fashion industry, due to the fact that there are so many layers within production (upwards of 30 stages are often needed to make just one simple garment) traceability and accountability are tough to manage.
And because synthetic leathers are most commonly made from PVC, polyester and PU (plastic-based fibres that need oil for their production and shed micro-plastics into the environment and oceans) they’re hardly a planet-friendly option. But even putting ethics aside, real leather production is a pollution-heavy process – so why isn’t searching out plant-based leathers a viable solution?
How are real leather garments produced?
Conventional leather processes involve the hide of a dead animal (which is not always a by-product of the food industry, FYI) being treated to tan it, dye it and turn it into the pliable material used to make your shoes, jackets, trousers, skirts and handbags.
In Europe and America, using heavy-metal, cancer-causing toxins in the process has been banned – but that’s not the case world-wide. There are methods of chrome-free tanning that use gentler vegetable or synthetic dyes (& Other Stories and Arket both offer chrome-free leather and suede products now) and Deadwood create their leather staples from recycled and deadstock hides that are already in existence.
Natalie Smith, founder of luxury leather handbag brand Naru Studios, believes there are ‘good’ and ‘bad’ leathers. She sources the hides for her brand in a considered way. “We only work with traceable leather, from organic, regenerative small-scale and ethically run farms in Scandinavia, Germany and the UK.”