The present and future of leather
The fashion industry is rapidly changing thanks to a big push from Gen Zs, however a lot of work needs to be done on generalized consumer choices. In the mean time, in order to reduce the negative impact of fashion, we need to innovate the producing processes.
In this article I will ask myself: how can we improve the production of leather? Many avant-garde solutions can be adopted by brands in the production of leather in order to be more sustainable (and offer a really good quality anyway!).
Keep reading to discover the answers to your questions about the present and future of leather.
Why the traditional animal leather is not a solution anymore?
The animal leather industry is among the most polluting in the world. How is that possible? It is because of the need to raise livestock and the manufacturing process of leather itself which requires a lot of water and chemical substances (mainly chrome). Also, many leather manufacturers have had health consequences because of the chemical substances they use on a daily basis.
Why to find alternative solutions is so important?
It’s important to find other solutions because leather items are highly requested. It sounds crazy to me (I had no idea!) but I discovered in 2018 the leather market valued 40 billion euros (about 48 billion dollars) in all the world. The main consumers of leather nowadays are millennials who enjoy buying leather sneakers and the market is expanding a lot (read: insanely) in China.
What is about vegan leather?
You can find an article on the Renoon website titled “Ethical Materials: Vegan Leather and all you Need to Know”. Here the main concepts:
“The term “vegan leather” is a catch-all term to signify any leather that does not come from an animal. Simply put, any leather that is not animal-based is vegan. Today, vegan leather can come from natural, plant-derived sources such as pineapple leaves, apples, cactuses, coconuts, cork, mushrooms and bio-oils from cereal crops. […] Is vegan leather plastic? It can certainly be — PVC and PU vegan leathers still exist today. […] In addition, some vegan brands use a plant-based plastic made from biopolyoils from cereal crops which are biodegradable.”
Here is an example of a brand which produces vegan leather sneakers: it is called PRIVATO and you can find it on Renoon. It produces vegan leather shoes made from corn or pineapple scraps and ecological plastic materials as recycled plastic bottles.
What is the future of leather?
The key words for the future of leather probably are “vegan” and “lab-created”. Vegan leather is more sustainable and less polluting. I think it is even better if it comes from vegetable scraps instead of plastic.
But there is more, there are studies to implement and develop the production of this material from mushrooms. This vegetable leather limits the proliferation of bacteria; it is breathable, water repellent and non-toxic, so it can be safely applied in all the products which are used in direct contact with the skin. For example, Mylo di Bolt Threads (also used by Stella McCartney) is one of the most promising lab-created material and produced by growing mycelium cells — the root of mushrooms — by feeding them with sawdust.
The bottom line
Always remember how impact your choices on the planet and on the welfare of animals. As conscious consumers we have a big power: we can make a difference and reduce our footprint on the world for the years to come. The funniest point is we can do it even simply choosing our next pair of shoes or jacket made by a vegan leather instead of animal leather ones.
If you want to be sure your fashion purchases are sustainable take a look at the Renoon website or follow the Instagram account to stay tuned!
