FACTS ABOUT LEATHER
What happens if we stop using leather? (short movie)
Courtesy of: One4leather
Where does leather come from? (short movie)
Courtesy of: UK Leather Association
Leather Naturally initiative
Leather Naturally promotes the use of globally-manufactured sustainable leather and seeks to inspire and inform designers, creators and consumers about its beauty, quality and versatility.
Short movie on modern leather manufacturing and its position of a sustainable, long lasting material: Leather Naturally.
Courtesy of: Leather Naturally
Sustainability of leather compared to other products
To act and live ethically correct is not that simple. Poet and writer Melissa Kwasny studies all aspects of this in her book “Putting on the dog: The Animal Origins Of What We Wear”:
”Vegan shoes made out of plastics that seem like leather are fantastic in theory, but in practice, they have adverse effects on the planet at every step in their manufacture, sale, use, disposal, and slow decay - problems that a pair of leather shoes dont have.”
”To believe that we do not harm by abstaining from animal products is to tell ourselves a lie”.
“It is impossible to be ethically pure”
“”We should not replace natural materials with synthetics. We should buy clothes mostly made from plants and animals. Not very many but cherish and care for them”.”
Quick facts from the book
90% of textiles produced worldwide are not from creatures but from cotton and polyesters. Both are responsible for widespread pollution of waterways, soils and air and consume enormous amounts of water.
COTTON
11% of pesticides worldwide are sprayed on these plants
It takes 5’300 gallons (20’000 litres) of water to make a cotton t-shirt and a pair of jeans
NATURAL POLYMERS (such as Viscose and Lyocell)
The processes involved in making these rely on acids and sulfates that release carbon emissions
SYNTHETICS (such as polyesters and nylons)
Synthetics make up 60% of the textile production worldwide
The production relies on harmful petrochemicals which rely on fossil fuels
Synthetic clothings requires more washing (water waste) and are less durable resulting (increased waste)
Every wash of a polyester item releases plastic into the waterways (microfiber pollution)
Synthetics are not biodegradable, piling up in landfils and leaching chemicals into soil and water
“Being ‘good’ isn’t as easy as it might first seem. In theory, it’s as simple as minimizing the harm you cause. This is the line of thinking that often prompts people to make decisions like giving up meat, or, in the case of clothing, refusing to wear any materials made from animals—specifically leather, fur, silk, pearls, wool, and feathers.
But in reality, we live in a big, complex, connected world, and the consequences for our actions and decisions aren’t always easy to assess. Sadly, the possible ways that we can cause harm are seemingly infinite, and the chances of our doing so practically inescapable. And sometimes what seems like the simplest or most correct approach, when examined closely, is actually just another tricky thicket of moral quandaries.”