Sustainable leather

Can leather (real leather) be sustainable?

This is a question that people are increasingly asking us: how can we say that we are an environmentally-friendly sneaker brand if genuine leather is on the list of materials used to make our footwear? 

What is meant exactly by sustainability?

If we want to ascertain whether leather is an eco-friendly material or not, we first need to examine three major factors:

1. The origin of the material. What impact can be attributed to the sourcing stage and processing of the constituent raw materials?
2. Material durability, meaning to what extent it withstands the passage of time.
3. Material disposal once the life cycle of the product has come to an end.

When we talk about the sustainability and environmental impact of a product, it is important to consider its entire life span: from the sourcing stage to the end product.

Where does the leather come from?

Let’s start out by dispelling a myth: most of the leather used by the fashion industry (with the exception of python skin, crocodile skin and furs) does not come from livestock bred and butchered for that purpose.
Nowadays, the hides used by the tanning sector are a by-product of slaughterhouses: if the leather was not tanned, it would be disposed of in some other way and this would in all likelihood be more harmful. Although this transfers the problem from one industry to another, it is still a fact that the leatherworking system reutilises the waste produced by a food sector which produces at such an unsustainable rate that we have all become acutely aware of the massive environmental harm being wreaked.

Tanning and the importance of technology

So, what makes the difference? Much like other materials, provenance is key: Italian and European tanneries must comply with extremely strict regulations on the protection of the environment and workers’ rights, unlike other countries like China, Bangladesh or India. These major producers of finished leathers are not bound by the same steadfast rules on health and hygiene. 

The consumption of water and use of chemicals are another two aspects of the tanning process that have a direct bearing on sustainability.
Tanning is the process whereby the hide of cows is treated and turned into leather.
What make the difference in environmental terms are cutting-edge purification technologies which, in Europe and countries like Italy, ensure that grey water is disposed of properly and that the water footprint is reduced, not to mention efforts expended to retrieve and recycle manufacturing scraps.

Vegetable tanning: the slow conscious alternative

Statistics show that over 75% of leather on the market is chromium-treated. In Europe today chrome-tanning is not harmful in itself (European legislation has banned all potentially toxic substances from the process), but it is still a method that involves chemicals known for being polluting.

Vegetable tanning is an alternative to traditional techniques and it relies on dyes obtained by pickling organic materials like tree bark, berries and flowers. This more responsible kind of tanning uses biodegradable dyes which are easier to dispose of. Unfortunately, this technique is more time-consuming than traditional ones and not very compatible with the fast pace of modern fashion production lines. It does get us thinking, though, about production methods which make leather environmentally friendly.

This is why we have chosen a metal-free tanned leather for our Womsh footwear. We use it for the uppers of some styles and the linings for the whole collection. Bianca is leather created via a special tanning procedure which does not entail the use of heavy metals or chemicals and is, therefore, not only safe for the environment, but also for workers’ health. It complies with responsible production standards and gives us leather which is 100% natural and biodegradable without any loss in terms of resistance and suppleness, making it wholly comparable then to traditionally tanned leather. And there are significant advantages on the sustainability front too:

• once its life span is over, the vegetable-tanned item has a series of chemical-biological properties which allow it to be easily disposed of;
• it is extremely efficient in terms of energy;
• the leather is left to dry naturally without the use of machinery;
• although scraps are created during the production process, in Italy (and generally speaking, in the EU as a whole) where leather tanning must comply with strict regulatory procedures, any waste is recovered almost in its entirety: the removed fibres are reused as fertilisers on farmland and waste generated by the purification process is recycled in the building industry.

What is more, seeing the situation through a circular-economy prism, repurposing waste from the food sector which would otherwise simply have been incinerated, seemed to us to be a better solution in the production of responsible Sneakers with a democratic price. We like to think that we have dealt with the situation creating the least possible impact.

LWG certification and our commitment to a transparent production chain

What guarantee is provided as regards the provenance of the leather?
Our leather is LWG certified. These three letters stand for Leather Working Group , a no-profit organisation which assesses tanneries all over the world in terms of sustainability, taking into consideration a series of parameters like: consumption of water and energy, waste disposal and ethics and safety on the workplace.
The aim of the LWG protocol is to establish a common standard to be applied to the leather-working industry so as to guarantee traceability and monitor environmental and social performance across the supply chain: from producer to supplier right up to the fashion brands.

In other words, this means that the leather for our Sneakers comes solely from suppliers who have passed all the audit standards required to achieve LWG certification and who have promoted the best possible practices both in social and environmental terms: extensive rather than intensive livestock breeding systems, better use of natural resources, emission reduction, dignified working conditions for all workers and the utmost transparency throughout the whole distribution network.

The longevity of leather

This is another factor not to be underestimated in terms of sustainability. Traditional leather never ages. Its appearance actually improves as time goes by. Compared to synthetic leathers made from petroleum, a natural-leather item has a much longer life cycle and can even last for decades. This means that it will not end up in a landfill after being used just a few times. Robustness and longevity have always been intrinsic qualities of leather. In our opinion, whichever way you look at the matter, this is a good in terms of modern-day sustainability: “buy less, buy better”.