The Restory
One of the most enduring of all leather qualities is its longevity, it ages beautifully and well-made products can pass from generation to generation.
New company The Restory, which is based in London has been established with the aim of perpetuating traditional craft skills to help maintain and restore favourite leather bags and footwear. Offering a free collection and delivery service within the UK, but accepting repairs from around the world, this is a solution embedded in sustainability that prolongs the useable life of valued leather possessions.
Check out some of the incredibly detailed operations in the case studies on the website – in a world that knows it must consume less and reuse or recycle more, The Restory offers a valuable service.
Photo credits: Aaron Sutton, The Restory
Peterson & Stoop
Jelske Peterson and Jarah Stoop are the names behind the brand Peterson & Stoop - a duo that is taking a pioneering and sustainable approach to footwear production and design.
The label started in Amsterdam in 2013 but really took shape in its current form when the team decided to focus on one really good product that was not season-dependent. A combined experience of design, footwear repair and construction led them to taking vintage sneakers apart and building them up again into something new, wearable and covetable.
Why did they choose to work with leather?
"We chose to work with leather 'cause it’s just a beautiful product. It ages very nicely, we use vegetable tanned leather and it’s so durable. So that’s why. I think that compared to vegan options it lasts much longer, you can really treat it with oils or, if you treat it well, it will last longer than your lifetime. For us from Peterson + Stoop, it also comes from our education: we learned the traditional way of making shoes."
Red the full story and interview on METCHA.
Nobody Passes on Their T-Shirt to Their Grandchildren...
Slightly Alabama designs and manufactures limited quantity leather goods in West Village, NY. Metcha interviewed Creative Director, Dana Glaeser about making what he loves, and where he finds inspiration.
Read the full interview.
Frankfurt Show 2019: Will manufacturers be transparent about interiors?
As fans gather to witness the unveiling of new car models one question remains – will the car industry have a better understanding of the sustainability of leather versus materials derived from finite resources and be transparent in both its labelling of alternative materials and in its communication with customers?
The exterior is no longer the only point of interest when it comes to new cars – vehicle manufacturers are eager to transform and increasingly focus on marketing the interior of the car. We have seen a fashion for replacing leather, an organic material, with oil-based plastics and synthetics, somehow conflating ‘vegan’ with ‘sustainable’, which when the stated objective is sustainability, is a misrepresentation of science.
Man-made materials in vehicles aren’t necessarily a new phenomenon. They have been around for a long time – and can make sense for certain parts of the car where leather might not be the first choice. Most leather alternatives though, are made of plastic-based polyurethane chloride (PVC) and polyurethane, both pose serious environmental threats given that they are usually manufactured from fossil fuels and are not biodegradable.
Demanding transparency from car manufacturers
Labelling of synthetic alternative material for the interior of cars often incorporates the term ‘leather’ in an attempt to associate with the positive benefits of leather but without being transparent about the true origin of the synthetic material used.
However, the term leather is strictly defined by British, European and International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) standards and refers to only material originating from the skins or hides of animals. As Dr Kerry Senior, director at the UK’s leather trade federation, Leather UK pointed out in an article published in the The Independent (15.08.19), “There is no such thing as vegan leather.”
Modern Leather Production supports a Circular Economy
Hides and skins are a by-product of the meat industry. It would be an ecological disaster to send them all to landfill instead of taking responsibility and making use of them and thus enable a circular economy. Properly made and sourced leather ticks all the boxes of a truly sustainable material.
Modern leather manufacturing is highly regulated and a clean, non-polluting industry and responsible car manufacturer brands use leather from reputable, audited sources. Leather is also easy to care for and ages well and is very durable, it will most likely survive much longer as the alternative materials.
Note to editors
Leather Naturally promotes the use of globally-manufactured sustainable leather. Its website www.leathernaturally.org is a key resource for information about modern leather manufacturing and the part it plays in a more sustainable society.
Media enquiries: Debbie Burton, Communication Team, info@leathernaturally.org
Why fashion designers should look to leather for sustainability
The Fashion industry has been called out for its waste problem, but it can help, not as some seem to think by shunning leather but embracing it.
Leather was perhaps the first recycled material. Hides and skins are a by-product of the meat industry, that if not turned into leather would contribute to landfill. Moreover its versatility lends itself to innovation and creativity as it can be used to create a huge range products from the softest leather pants to the most structured handbag.
The world needs more sustainable materials but choosing imitation leather often means choosing synthetics derived from finite resources, with a poor environmental footprint. Replacing a natural material, with oil-based plastics or conflating ‘vegan’ with ‘sustainable’ is one of the biggest mistakes the fashion industry can make. Advances in utilising alternative plant-based materials give us more options as consumers, but many require bonding with synthetics for strength so don’t provide a quick fix.
The simple and quick fix we can all act on is to buy less, buy better. Leather is natural by-product, it is versatile, long lasting and repairable. In short, leather is the perfect material for a world that needs to consume less, reuse more and recycle everything.
Note to editors
Leather Naturally promotes the use of globally-manufactured sustainable leather. Its website www.leathernaturally.org is a key resource for information about modern leather manufacturing and the part it plays in a more sustainable society.
Media enquiries: Debbie Burton, Communication Team, info@leathernaturally.org
Don't Fabricate an Attack on Leather
The article published in the Guardian blaming leather for fuelling Amazon fires has attracted criticism for its inaccuracies. In the interests of transparency Leather Naturally reproduces below the response from founder member Dr Michael Redwood in which he expresses his concern that a misinformed public will be driven to choosing materials derived from fossil fuels.
Lucy Siegle’s article on the increase of deforestation in the Amazon lacks accuracy from its title onwards. Leather comes from a by product of the meat and dairy industry. At 5% or less of carcass value it is never a determining factor.
With or without leather cattle and other livestock would be kept to provide meat and dairy products, and as draught animals. Hence last year the EU announced their Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules defining leather carbon footprints as starting at the abattoir rather than with livestock husbandry, which equates to 0.42%
Furthermore hides from the cattle types described in the article do not produce the attractive leather demanded by luxury brands who mostly prefer leather from European or United States hides. Currently demand for Brazilian beef has grown strongly because of the decimation of China’s pig population with African Swine Fever.
With leather being natural, long lasting and renewable for as long as society eats meat it is one of the most sustainable materials. Attacking it based in bad science only serves to push society towards fossil fuel based alternatives, while unwanted hides and skins end up becoming a cost of disposal to the abattoir – something which is already happening around the world.
Lucy Siegle should know the paper (2015) published by Rafael Silva from the University of Edinburgh recommending a 30% increase in beef production in order to reduce Brazil’s green house gas emissions, a plan adopted by the pre Bolsonaro Government. This concluded that the cattle population and deforestation had been decoupled and that more and better grazing was urgently needed to improve the existing extensive Savannah region, where the grass is in poor repair. Brazilian grass is exceptionally good at sequestering carbon dioxide only requiring improvement via appropriate livestock grazing for this to work via fertilising, grazing and treading.
Brazilian cattle are about beef rather than leather and to use the Amazon to fabricate an attack on leather is a distraction and unhelpful to everyone involved.
How I Was Fooled by Synthetic Leather
Leather Naturally Chair, Egbert Dikkers thought he was making a sustainable choice when he opted for an electric car with leather interior. So why was his car delivered with plastic seats?
How I was fooled with synthetic leather
In the first week of January this year, 2019, I went to the car dealer to pick up my new car. I deliberately chose for an electric car with a reasonable cruising range of approximately 250-280 real kilometres to support the move towards less CO2 emissions. Working for Smit & zoon, a 7th generation family business with a core focus to make the leather industry more sustainable, it is logical that I wanted leather in my car. What should have been a nice moment, turned out to be an initial disappointment because my car was delivered with plastic instead of leather.
Please read my personal story.
When I ordered the car in May 2018 (electric cars are popular in the Netherlands with many months waiting time till delivery as a consequence) I chose for a standard OEM package with a combination of leather and textile as I did not like the alternative combination of leather and alcantara. In the brochure I received at the time of purchasing, the upholstery was nicely described as leather/eco textile and also described this way in the initial price offer.
When I arrived at the car dealer last week, the car was wrapped under a red sheet as a surprise. Regretfully the surprise was that the seats where covered with plastic and textile. Instead of a nice full handle with touch and warmth, I felt a thin sheet with no touch, no character at all. I was fooled with plastic!
When I asked the dealer why he did not put leather in but plastic, he reacted with astonishment. But Sir, this is what you ordered. This is synthetic leather! I was flabbergasted and explained to him the difference between leather and synthetic material and the fact that I would never have chosen for a non sustainable material like plastic. And asked him why he was wrong in how he labelled leather at the time I bought the car?
Today I checked the website of the OEM again and noticed that they do write ‘synthetic leather’ now. It seems they learned, although still I would argue that they should put a different name for ‘synthetic leather’ and be open that this material is plastic. It is now up to me to solve this situation with the dealer and or via the aftermarket. Also in the aftermarket, I notice that mostly ‘eco leathers’ are offered, which is nothing else than plastic, promoted as an eco alternative for leather. It is rather challenging to get leather at all!
Many people including myself choose for leather because of the unique characteristics and the fact that it is long lasting, repairable and in the case of car leather, easy to clean. If this ‘fooling’ can happen to me, it might happen to you as well? If so, I am interested to hear your story.
One of the risks we face as an industry is that consumers think they buy leather, later on experience that the product does not offer the characteristics they expect from leather and as a result loose their confidence in leather and stop buying the next time. This is what is happening in shoes, in upholstery, in bags and in automotive for several years already. Slowly, slowly leather is substituted by plastic, deteriorating our oceans.
I write this blog, because this is just another wake up call for me personally and for the leather industry. Are we going to relax, sit back and enjoy the free ride on plastic chairs? Or are we going to stand up, be proud and bold about leather, unite, support and fund initiatives like Leather Naturally, their intended promotion campaign and other alternatives and organisations focussing on regulations (like Cotance) and many others that promote and protect leather and the unique characteristics? Furthermore, it remains a challenge to our industry to develop, produce and market leather as a luxury product with strong benefits. I also experienced that we as people working in the leather industry have an own responsibility and great opportunity in educating people we see and meet in industries that sell plastic and take a free ride on the image of leather.
What more proof is needed to realize that we need to collaborate to develop, produce and promote leather as a unique material?
Egbert Dikkers