WHAT IS ECO-LEATHER? A SUSTAINABLE STYLE

We recently talked about the most sustainable clothing brands and some of the best documentaries on climate change. As you can see, we are active on this issue, since it’s currently what worries us the most. That is why today we are going to talk about Eco Leather, is it eco-leather?

What is Eco Leather?

The definition says it’s a product whose raw material is not obtained with traditional procedures since it’s obtained from a plasticizer materia. It’s introduced into a mixing machine to which an ultraviolet light stabilizer is added to make the material resistant to the sun’s rays.

But the process doesn’t end there: after this first step, a flame retardant solution is incorporated so that it can withstand the temperature of the fire. A machine mixes these substances and in turn, powdered vinyl is added until a consistent mixture is achieved.

Now, this first definition can raise serious unknowns and doubts about whether ecological leather is as sustainable as it is sold based on its constitution and process.

What is the real composition of ecological leather?

With the ecological leather, animals haven’t suffered in its production, nor have any polluting substances been emitted into the atmosphere or the waters of the sea and rivers. In addition, it’s made from biodegradable fabrics that take little time to disappear once discarded. Or they can even be recycled!

However, there are a lot of doubts about the real ecological part of eco-leather, since there are more and more indications of garments that carry the eco-leather label but weren’t manufactured under environmental standards.

Vegan and ecological leather 

Vegan leather or ecological leather are the two names that generate the most confusion, with each other and separately. It’s usually made of leatherette or synthetic leather, so it’s officially vegan (because it does not come from animal suffering), but at the same time, it incorporates all the treatment with plastics, which makes it non-ecological. It makes it a polluting product with lower durability than 100% bovine leather.

On the other hand, animal hide comes from a layer of tissue that covers the animals. The skin layer is separated from the body of the animal, removing the hair or wool in the process, and subjecting it to a tanning process. It has very appropriate resistance and flexibility properties for subsequent handling.

Beyond all the trends adjusted to the times where sustainability and the environment take a preponderant role in the mind of the consumer, it’s worth thinking and giving room to doubt about whether what is not 100% from an animal responds to the standards and is truly eco friendly.

Is it really eco-leather?

With the characteristics of ecological leather, it can be seen that it’s not environmentally friendly, since its production processes and its substances can be seen very much the same as those of the textile industry.

In addition, if we think about the plastic that is used, it’s not an ecological material, on the contrary, it’s one of the materials that most affect the environment. As this is not renewable, it can take more than 5000 years to disappear.

Let’s remember that we are in the era of environmentalism, but also the era of marketing. So, do you think it’s 100% ecological?