Vegan leather is on everyone’s lips right now. Because no animal has to die for it – that’s why it is often touted as a more environmentally friendly alternative to real leather. But the equation is not that simple, because synthetic leather is often plastic. Which materials are vegan, environmentally conscious and come closest to real leather? Jackets, pants, shoes, bags: Hardly any other material is as versatile – and so deeply anchored in our wardrobe as leather.
Because people have been protecting themselves with robust animal skin for thousands of years, so it can confidently be described as one of the most important and oldest materials in the human “wardrobe”. But the manufacturing process is polluting – and difficult to reconcile with an animal-friendly lifestyle. In an age in which everything revolves around sustainability , the material has therefore come under severe criticism.
What’s so bad about real leather?
Leather is a natural material – of course, it’s dead animal skin after all. Because the organic material would rot quickly in its original state , it is often treated with many toxic chemicals. In countries where a lot of leather is produced and where environmental regulations are less strict than in Germany, the consequences are catastrophic. In Bangladesh, for example: 90 percent of the tannery workers who work there do not live to be 50 years old. And the Buriganga River, which flows through the capital Dhaka, has already been declared biologically dead due to tannery waste, writes author Tansy E. Hoskins .
But not only the production is more harmful to the environment than vegetable and synthetic materials such as cotton, polyester or PU. When it comes to climate change, leather is also a loser: In order to create enough space for cattle farms and feed, rainforests are being destroyed on a massive scale . And produce cows – well, who was paying attention in organic lessons? – methane. The gaseous excretions of the animals are considered 25 times more dangerous than CO2 emissions. Further greenhouse gases are formed in the form of laughing gas – through the massive amount of manure from the animals. The global warming is accelerated enormously, as the animal protection organization PETA points out.
Speaking of animal welfare: In addition to the environmental damage and public health risks, animal materials such as leather cause great animal suffering – during rearing, killing and transport to the slaughterhouse. PETA denounces that cattle and sheep are carted to the place of slaughter on week-long routes without adequate food and water supplies for the production of leather . For example from Brazil to Lebanon – because leather production is the cheapest that way. The animals are defenselessly exposed to heat and cold while they stand tightly together in their own droppings, as photos by environmentalists prove. If they fall to the ground, they can be trampled on by their fellows. They become common at the destinationkilled without anesthesia .
But of course we don’t think about that anymore when the material is in the form of a pretty bag in the shop window – or when we are excited to lace up our favorite sneakers. A better alternative? Real leather products only vintage , so buy second-hand.
What is vegan leather made of – and is it really the better alternative?
For vegan leather, as the name suggests, no animal has to be tortured or die. An important step in terms of ethics. In many cases, however, fake leather is (still) a polluter for the environment: Many synthetic leather materials are made from plastic , for example from polyurethane or PVC – and these also cause toxic waste in production. Crude oil is used for their production – not a sustainable raw material. In the case of clothes made of synthetic materials, microplastics are also formed with every washreleased. Recycling these materials is not easy either – all in all, not a really environmentally conscious alternative. It is therefore important to pay particular attention to materials that are declared as “vegan leather” as to what they are actually made of.
These leather alternatives look deceptively real – but are made of cactus or mushrooms
New vegan leather imitations are more sustainable than PVC or polyurethane, more robust and release fewer or no toxic substances in their production because they are made from plant-based materials. Innovative alternatives to artificial leather, which consists of 100 percent plastic, are, for example, leather made from mushrooms or algae, pineapple leather or cactus leather .
But even with them there are differences in terms of sustainability: Pineapple leather can be made from plant leaves that are usually left over when the fruit is harvested. The natural leather has been successfully sold under the name Piñatex for a few years. The problem: Piñatex is currently not biodegradable because the pineapple leaves have to be mixed with petroleum-based resins.
The idea of making leather from cacti, on the other hand, is newer – and more sustainable: it is produced, for example, by the Mexican brand Desserto . In September 2019, the two founders Adrián López Velarde and Marte Cázarez presented their cactus leather for the first time – and immediately received thunderous applause. The good thing about the green wonder plant: cacti only need a little water and do not have to be treated with toxic pesticides – an important aspect in terms of sustainability.
Mushroom leather is also very promising: Several companies are researching the organic material, which is completely compostable and does not leave any waste behind.
The problem with these artificial leather alternatives: their development is often still in its infancy, research is time-consuming, and the materials are therefore more expensive than conventional artificial leather or real leather. And people? Are spoiled when it comes to the oversupply of cheap clothes. Really good “leatherette” that actually from degradable materials there will be increasingly important in the future – for that you have but something fall as consumers * in only deeper pockets than for the 9.99-plastic shoe of large Fast- Fashion brands.
In order for such fabrics to become a real alternative in the long term, it is therefore important to be interested in such materials, to consume more carefully and to spend a little more on a good piece of clothing than continue to wear cheap, but bad materials because without demand there is no supply .
Stella McCartney and Rihanna: vegan leather is already that popular
But there is good news: the demand for vegan leather is growing all the time. The fashion search engine Lyst has just evaluated the shopping behavior of more than 104 million people – and the survey shows that searches for “vegan leather” have risen by a whopping 69 percent – searches for genuine leather products, on the other hand, have already fallen a bit in the past year.
Incidentally, Germany is one of the pioneers in terms of interest in sustainable fashion. Only in Australia and Denmark are more people interested in fair fashion. Most of the searches on the topic, who would have thought it, come from Berlin, where, among other things, faux fur coats and vegan leather jackets are particularly popular. Sustainable sneakers are particularly in demand .
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