Vegan leather has been praised as an ethical alternative to animal leather, but at what cost? Today we investigate the environmental impacts of synthetic leather.
Synthetic leather is mostly derived from either polyurethane, which is made from fossil fuels, or polyvinyl chloride.
Animal leather requires raising livestock which has been associated with greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, those animals often graze on deforested land and require hazardous chemicals for the leather tanning process. The chemicals used are often subsequently dumped into natural waterways such as rivers.
Vegetable tanning provides a sustainable practice to tanning leather as it uses natural tanning agents instead of chemical solutions. The results of vegetable tanning is a leather product that can last for many years if taking care of properly.
With the invention of plant based plastics, a potential form of sustainable synthetic leather are in the sights of fashion brands. However, it is still too early to say when these plant based fabrics will be readily available to make synthetic leather goods. This is mainly due to the vast amount of resources required to obtain the plastics derived from plants as it is a process that is slow and highly time consuming.
At the end of the day, the best option is to buy better and buy less so that our initial purchase will last longer and require less replacements. Whether it is real or faux leather, high quality products will last longer than those that are poorly constructed, especially when they are looked after. This will help reduce waste and unnecessary demand of freshly made leather, both animal and plastic based.
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