#Leather hides skin

It uses this claim to argue animal husbandry is not related to the leather industry, so greenhouse gas emissions from it should not be included. The Leather Panel, part of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization argues that the cattle and ‘livestock’ industry would not be affected if leather sales stopped completely. So what share of the environmental and climate impacts should the leather industry specifically be responsible for? And should they be allowed to dictate that? Leather is a profit-driven industry set to reach a staggering $629.95 billion market size worth by 2025. Leather is not a recycling charity any more than plastics are recycled from the waste of crude oil refineries.įor those who believe leather to be a mere by-product of the meat and dairy industries, and so who discount any environmental impact of leather unrelated to leather processing and tanning, let’s address that.Ī by-product becomes a co-product when this secondary good – skins, from industries focused on flesh or milk – becomes desirable and profitable.

This sort of disinformation is compounded by efforts like the industry-funded Leather Naturally organization, which refers to any use of leather as ‘ recycling‘ and relies on shifting the focus away from things like staggering climate and biodiversity impacts to things like plastic. Marketing leather as a sustainable by-product that outperforms leather alternatives has resulted in widely-held misconceptions among fashion professionals and consumers alike. One of the biggest fantasies that the leather letter tried to assert is: “Leather manufacture takes a waste from another industry and transforms it into a durable, versatile and sustainable product.”

#Leather hides skin

The SAC, whose data shows cow skin leather as the third most environmentally impactful material to produce from cradle-to-gate, after only silk fabric and alpaca wool fabric, clapped back with a public response outlining the integrity of their work and defending the data they source and methodologies they use, which they continue to refine. Thirteen international leather industry trade groups signed a letter demanding that the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (who develops the MSI) suspend a bad score for leather over claims of ‘inappropriate methodologies and out of date, unrepresentative, inaccurate and incomplete data… has led to a negative perception of leather.’ One of the most respected tools used to assess and track the sustainability of fashion materials, the Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI), has come under pressure recently by powerful leather industry forces. Using the leather industry’s own data we've calculated how much greenhouse gas is tied to your leather bag, and it’s not looking good. The leather industry’s toll on climate and biodiversity are far worse than commonly thought.

Since publication, the above infographic has been updated to amend an error. It is co-authored by Emma Hakansson, Collective Fashion Justice founder, and Joshua Katcher, author of Fashion Animals, and Collective Fashion Justice board member. This article was originally published on Plant Based News under the title ‘Faux Fears Over Vegan Leather’.