All of us have a role to play in upholding the sanctity of our environment. Manufacturing animal products such as Totes, handbags, and luxury accessories conscientiously and responsibly will help us shape a sustainable future.

The questions arise: Do these brands use ethical practices to raise animals for hides and environmentally friendly leather tanning techniques if they use leather?

Do they use materials that are sourced sustainably, such as organic cotton or recycled fabrics?

Do they account for safe working conditions for workers to mitigate their environmental impact?

The discussion these days are about ethically sourced leather, also known as “vegan leather.” People are curious about what each of these terms means and how they may or may not apply to the products they buy.

Is Vegan leather the answer to all our moral questions? If it’s ethically produced, do we even need an alternative to conventional leather?

Let us find answers to these issues in the following segments –

Is vegan leather a viable alternative?

The debate over the ethics of leather jackets is one of the few things that seems to be more timeless than the jacket itself. Real animal fur and feathers, as well as leather, made mostly from the hides of cattle and calves, are hotly debated in the fashion industry.

Most mainstream vegan leathers are made of polyurethane (PU) leather, which is neither sustainable nor biodegradable. So, the concept of “vegan leather,” according to Tanja Hester, an environmental activist, writer, and author of Wallet Activism, is just greenwashing.

Vegan leather is essentially plastic and cannot undergo biodegradation.

Is livestock to blame for the increasing carbon footprint?

Veganism and the use of fewer animal products, whether in food or clothing, is frequently promoted as a long-term solution. However, some industry experts and environmentalists argue that a high-quality sustainable dupe for leather is difficult to come by. In fact, contrary to popular belief, giving up on meat or having ‘Meatless Mondays’ is unlikely to change the situation. Let us look at why –

The greenhouse gas emissions from livestock account for around fifteen percent of the total world count. In contrast, the transportation, cement, and power sectors are responsible for eighty percent of the total emissions in developed countries such as Japan and the U.S, and around seventy-two percent of the entire world count.

In fact, it is dangerous to blame the leather industry for these adverse environmental effects since the ruminants do not add new carbon to the environment. The non-human inedible feed that they consume would otherwise have gone to waste and not contributed to the bio-fertilizers in the form of animal manure.

The methane that these ruminants generate comes from this non-edible feed that got the methane from the environment in the form of rain. These animals are part of a natural carbon cycle that does not add to the already adversely impacted carbon footprint, thanks to the burning of fossil fuels.

Two-thirds of the world’s land is marginal land unfit for producing crops. Our cattle graze on these lands and produce manure that fertilizes the rest of the arable land, making up one-third of the total land on earth.

Hence, we can safely say that livestock keeps alive the arable land that helps us produce edible plant-based food in the era of soil erosion due to repeated production and chemical fertilization. It is funny how livestock is demonized, whereas crop agriculture, standing at 4.7 percent of the total emissions, surpass livestock emissions that are standing at 3.9 percent.

It is dangerous to blame the leather industry since we are turning a blind eye to the five-hundred-pound gorilla that is the most significant part of the problem of global climate change.

Leather is a productive and eco-friendly waste

Leather is a by-product of livestock used in the tanning industry. The skins and hides come from the meat industry, which, if not used for tanning leather, would have gone on to landfills giving rise to environmental hazards. Therefore, recycling and upcycling the by-products from the slaughterhouse is a boon to the environment.

Steps taken by the leather industry to fight climate change

The leather industry is actively taking steps to recycle effluent water, filter heavy particles and insoluble waste as sludge, and convert it into bricks.

• The solid waste from tanneries cannot be used to feed chickens. The leather industry is actively taking steps to recycle effluent water, filter heavy particles and insoluble waste as sludge, and convert it into bricks. This is in line with the global trend of moving towards more sustainable practices.
• The leather industry produces much wastewater that needs to be treated before being released into the environment. For example, effluent water from tanning processes contains high concentrations of salt, metals, and other chemicals that must be eliminated before being released into waterways.
• Only 60–70% of total chromium salts react with the hide and skin in Cr tanning, so 30–40% of chromium remains in the solid and liquid wastes. As a result, from an economic and environmental standpoint, removing and recovering the chromium content of tannery wastewaters is critical.
• Treatment methods like coagulation and flocculation ensure that the post-treatment compound is heavier and settles down while the non-toxic wastewater passes into rivers as harmless sewage.
• Sludge is a by-product of the treatment process composed of heavy particles and insoluble waste. Sludge can be used as a soil amendment or fertilizer, and it has the potential to reduce environmental pollution by reducing the amount of pollutants released into waterways.
• Bricks are made from sludge that has been dried and processed into bricks or blocks. Bricks are an excellent source of insulation, thermal insulation, and structural support, making them essential for sustainable construction projects.
• The removal of organic matter from the wastewater at the second level of treatment necessitates a biological process: activated sludge, percolating filters, aerated lagoons, facultative lagoons, and other treatment technologies. Treatment with activated sludge is a tried-and-tested method for treating tannery wastewater that is used all over the world.
• Following up on these, the trimmings and shaving dust from the leather industry are converted into Leather Board, used as filler in bags, shoes, and belts.
• These leather boards are upgraded to Bonded Leather, which can be recycled as Lifestyle Products, structured shopper/Tote bags, sandal footbeds, office accessories, etc.

Leather is not going anywhere

Leather is a natural product that will be around for as long as the human race exists.

While alternative leather technologies advance, traditional leather must be produced as sustainably as possible in order to create a product that will stand the test of time. For instance, companies Mulberry has moved to regenerative farms to minimize CO2 emissions to 1.4 kg per hide as opposed to an average of 17kg per square meet worldwide. In addition, brands such as SKIIM Paris are using vegetable tanning to avoid releasing chromium into the water bodies.