Vegan leather, made from polyurethane, is also often composed of other innovative and sustainable materials, including pineapple leaves, other fruit waste, cork, apple peels, and recycled plastic.
Vegan Leather – Overview
PETA Business Friend Desserto’s stylish, sustainable, vegan leather is made of cactus. Desserto also excels with its beautiful vegan leather made out of cactus. This idea is favorable because vegan leather is good for the planet and for animals.
Growing list of designers have been featuring only vegan leather in their collections. Vegan leather is versatile, and Moto jackets are available in every cut and color. Even the little black dress and intimate items are now available in the vegan leather version.
Also, there is a possibility to find vegan leather shoes, billfolds, boots, handbags, and seat covers. Several luxury automakers offer vegan leather seating. Some of the famous automobile companies excelling with vegan leather include Tesla, Lexus, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Ferrari.
Cruse-free leather and vegan leather make you look good and feel good. It’s a superior option over killing a billion cows, alligators, ostriches, pigs, goats, sheep, kangaroos, and dogs and cats for their skins. Vegan leather involves no killing and yet is absolutely stunning in terms of its appearance.
Sustainable vegan leather is also a favorable option for Mother Earth. Turning skin into leather involves energy and toxic chemicals—including mineral salts, oils, dyes, coal-tar derivatives, formaldehyde, and finishes, some of which are cyanide-based. Tannery waste also involves water-fouling salt, acids, lime sludge, sulfides, and other pollutants.
Vegan Leather vs. Leather: The Difference
Conventional leather is a breathable, warm, durable, and flexible material made from animal skin to make clothes like jackets, bags, shoes, belts, and other accessories. But it’s worth understanding that this kind of leather production has several associated environmental and ethical concerns.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported that farming produces approximately 14% of all greenhouse emissions, including the traditional leather industry. Leather making and tanning involve a lot of resources, including energy and water, leading to waste. Chemicals like chromium salts that are used in it create toxic wastewater that pollutes land and water.
On the contrary, Vegan leather is easier to make and requires fewer resources. Energy and water-efficient alternatives to leather, vegan leather resembles conventional leather in strength, texture, and appearance. Low-cost natural fibers and agricultural waste products, alongside recyclable materials, make vegan leather both environmentally and animal-friendly.
Benefits at a glance
- Cheap, easy, and fast to make
- Uses various sustainable materials in production
- Highly versatile with many textures and finishes
- Environment and animal-friendly
- Stain-resistant, doesn’t wear or crack easily
- Water and UV-light-resistant
Where should one shop for Vegan Leather?
Many brands offer vegan or sustainable fashion alternatives as clothes and accessories at their outlets. There’s also a chance to find them on online shopping websites. However, when you are choosing to buy one, make sure to check for the certified vegan leather logo. It will guarantee that it is not an animal product and that it has undergone no animal testing during manufacturing.
Sustainability standards of Vegan Leather
When evaluating this leather’s sustainability credentials, one needs to consider its raw qualities as well as the manufacturing process. It is derived from natural resources and is definitely sustainable. However, one needs to be mindful of the fact that the ones constructed from synthetic elements aren’t. Nanushka uses polyurethane-based vegan leather, a plastic material. Regardless, you can find vegan leather available in various shapes and grades that are more leather-like than others.
High-quality leather, there is not much difference between it and real leather. Buying this leather is a great move as it is plant-based and comes from nothing but sustainable sources. The eco-friendly replacement for animal leather Vegan leather benefits the earth in a multitude of ways as well.