A new study has revealed the negative climate impact of animal leather, showing that its carbon footprint is more than 12 times larger than that of non-animal alternatives. The researchers from New…
This is important because there’s a tired talking point about how animal leather is more eco-friendly than synthetic leather (often of petrochemical origin). Apparently, not so.
The “synthetic leather is just shit that frails in two months” is also such an overused and misinformed point for leather enthusiasts. Because a) synthetic materials WILDLY change in quality depending on material and type of production, and b) research is always evolving and bringing up new materials (https://oleatex.com/ for example, which only uses roughly 10% of non-biocontent).
I hope it’s okay to mention brands here just for the sake of argument: I personally tried vegan “pleather” shoes by Ahinsa and Feelgrounds, for example, and after a year or so they still have to show any frailing whatsoever.
Lastly, one can always make the argument that many other natural fibers will also provide a similar durability when treated well. Thinking we ‘have’ to use animal leather because it is the only durable product feels so misinformed.
This is important because there’s a tired talking point about how animal leather is more eco-friendly than synthetic leather (often of petrochemical origin). Apparently, not so.
The “synthetic leather is just shit that frails in two months” is also such an overused and misinformed point for leather enthusiasts. Because a) synthetic materials WILDLY change in quality depending on material and type of production, and b) research is always evolving and bringing up new materials (https://oleatex.com/ for example, which only uses roughly 10% of non-biocontent).
I hope it’s okay to mention brands here just for the sake of argument: I personally tried vegan “pleather” shoes by Ahinsa and Feelgrounds, for example, and after a year or so they still have to show any frailing whatsoever.
Lastly, one can always make the argument that many other natural fibers will also provide a similar durability when treated well. Thinking we ‘have’ to use animal leather because it is the only durable product feels so misinformed.
It’s of course perfectly viable to choose neither
At least when looking specifically at carbon footprint in production.