Leather vs. “Vegan” Leather
Many of us are already familiar with the numerous key advantages of leather from sustainability and durability standpoints. If not, please feel free to take a deeper dive into the subject with our Leather Sustainability post. In short, genuine leather is a by-product of the meat and dairy industries, it lasts long and wears in with time and use and will eventually biodegrade in a landfill if and when it is discarded.
What we tend to overlook, though, is just how unsustainable the alternative options are. “Vegan” leathers, faux leathers and pleathers are often framed as greener, more environmentally friendly substitutes to traditional leather.
This narrative is pervasive in the fashion industry and our A&D community and has been pushed for years. To help combat this trend, we have taken a closer look at these leather alternatives. As expected, these upholstery products labeled “vegan” are, in fact, significantly less green than the authentic, natural animal hides that have been used for centuries for upholstery, clothing, shelter, tools, etc.
What is “Vegan” Leather?
“Vegan” leather is a relatively recent rebranding of what we all know as “pleather”, AKA plastic leather—a synthetic, fossil fuel-based textile.
These faux leathers are typically made of two types of plastic:
- Polyurethane (PU)
- Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
Both are petrochemical-based products with short life cycles that are impossible to recycle in their “vegan” leather form.
Vegan leather, faux leather, man-made leather, artificial leather, ultrasuede and skai leather are all synonyms for unnatural leather alternatives. These terms represent a concentrated effort to greenwash products with limited life cycles and harmful environmental impacts, framing them as sustainable choices.
The 5 Dangers of “Vegan” Leather
The Better Alternative
“As long as we human beings eat meat, there will be skin, and we need to find some application for that. Many people may think or feel bad that we kill animals just to have leather and make shoes, and that is essentially not the real case. To collect the animal skin from the meat industry and convert them to leather goods is a way to maximize the using of the resource.” -Huantian Cao, Professor & Chair of Fashion and Apparel Studies, University of Delaware
“It’s understandable that many people are drawn to vegan leather because they care about animal welfare, but they’d certainly make a different choice if they understood that it’s really just plastic made from petroleum. It’s a product that poisons workers involved in its production.” -Tanja Hester, environmental activist and writer
Third party organizations such as the Leather Working Group monitor, assess and certify environmental practices in the leather industry. Jamie Stern’s partner tannery in Italy has received the highly coveted gold rating from the LWG.
Looking to the Future
Leather is “time tested. We still see leather products in pretty good condition even if they’re 100, 150 years old. If you’re thinking about sustainability, durability, hand-me-downs, I would say genuine leather would be the way to go.” -Sonali Diddi, Associate Professor of the Department of Design and Merchandising, Colorado State University
Some companies have begun experimenting with the use of plant-based leather alternatives such as pineapple, mushroom and cactus-based products. However, these substitutes are very much in the earliest stages of development and are far from widely available.
There is not really room for much debate regarding the benefits of true, genuine, natural leather when compared to its various synthetic alternatives. Leather has been for centuries longer than either PU and PVC products and will hopefully be used for centuries after these products have fallen out of fashion. If you are looking for upholstery products with enhanced durability, a luxurious look and feel and minimal environmental impact, there is really only one direction to go: Leather!
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