The Leather and Hide Council of America has published a powerful fact sheet that makes clear the waste impact of letting hides go to waste.
“Turning hide into leather is one of the oldest forms of recycling. Hides are the natural and inevitable by-products of meat and dairy consumption. In fact, in the U.S, every single hide used in leather production comes from animals raised for food: leather manufacturing does not kill a single animal. Rather, manufacturers purchase as many hides as they can – cutting down waste – and transform them into durable, versatile and beautiful leather.’
The fact sheet goes on to quote that disposing of unused hides generates 120,000 tonnes of unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions – something that can easily be avoided. It looks at the repercussions of replacing natural leather with synthetic materials derived from fossil fuels and urges people to consider the importance of using the natural materials that we have.
Click image for factsheet.