Is leather really sustainable?
There is a big debate around whether leather is sustainable. Whilst many argue that it is a by-product of the meat industry and it would be wasteful to just throw it, others would debate that it isn’t sustainable due to the high carbon footprint as well as the toxic chemicals used in the tanning process.
In a recent debate in the footwear industry, supporters of the leather is sustainable debate said that it is an extremely durable product, therefore fits into the buy less, buy better ethos.
In a recent Vogue Business article they also discussed this issue, stating that searches for “vegan leather” have increased by 69 per cent year-on-year, according to global fashion search platform Lyst, and demand for “eco vegan leather” in particular has grown steadily — while searches for leather decreased by 3.5 per cent, according to the search platform.
Any brands considering the use of leather in their collections may be interested in a new initiative which is looking into this area in greater depth. Circumfauna, published by the vegan advocacy group ‘Collective Fashion Justice’, aims to create a repository for research and data on the use of animals in fashion, starting with the impacts of leather production.