Processing hides from livestock into leather is one of the oldest practiced forms of recycling. Hides are natural and inevitable by-products of meat and diary consumption.
In fact, in the U.S., every hide used in leather production comes from animals raised for food; the leather industry does not slaughter a single animal. Rather, the industry purchases these hides – which other wise would go to waste – and transforms them into durable, versatile and beautiful real leather.
Source: LHCA – USA – www.usleather.org