Leather furniture is intimidating. It has a reputation of luxury and it is desired for its durability and long lastingness as well as sublime comfort while at the same time has somewhat of an environmental and humanitarian affront.
There are so many “types “of leather available, with such a wide range of pricing that it’s really hard to know what you’re getting. I have a separate blog post that talks about what to look for buying a used leather piece of furniture. You can see that here.
This article is more about the impacts of leather, which many of us don’t fully understand.
I have a friend who is a very stylish interior designer, she is trendsetting and gorgeous, and is Vegan so she will only buy used leather. She does this so that no animals are harmed by her actions. I used to poke fun at her because the beef industry is so massive in this country, that it would seem natural that there would be a ton of animal byproducts and if people are going to consume an abundance of beef, so isn’t it good that we’re using them?!
Well, it turns out that I was right.
The impact of animal husbandry on the planet is something I’m not going to go into because this is not my area of expertise and because only 1% of the leather made into furniture worldwide comes from animals produced specifically for that purpose.
The other 99% of leather products made are used from the hides that are a byproduct of the meat industry. So when you source your next leather jacket or sofa, you don’t have to feel guilty about the animal that died for that because they were going to die anyway.
The environmental impact of leather comes from the process used to preserve it.
- Vegetable tanning is a very old process which uses organic compounds to preserve leather. A ton of water is used. Waste water from vegetable tanning is not ideal for the environment, but it takes a back seat compared to the chrome tanning process. Vegetable tanning encompasses about 10% of leather production, and is a better alternative environmentally than its counterpart.
- The bulk of the furniture in the market today is made from leather that has been chrome tanned.
- The majority of chrome tanneries are located in developing countries such as Bangladesh, India, and China, which have loose environmental regulations and virtually no worker safety protocols.
- The EPA considers all wastes containing chromium to be hazardous – if 90% of the leather produced worldwide is chrome-tanned you can start to understand the environmental impact.
- In 2020, the global leather industry used approximately 1.4 billion animal hides, which is equivalent to one animal for every five people on the planet.
- Leather production causes deforestation, pollutes water causing biodiversity loss, and emits greenhouse gases. The tanning process uses a lot of energy and water and the chemicals used in the tanning process are hazardous. Many people argue that leather is biodegradable and thus better for the environment, but this is entirely dependent on the tanning process, which renders much leather today unable to degrade. You can in fact get sick from high exposure to airborne leather particles that have been chrome tanned and as this leather decomposes, it releases chromium into the Earth.
So now now that we’ve digested all of those sad facts, what can we do about it? I mean, we all covet a leather sofa, right?
- Your first step, if you can afford it , is to go with furniture made from vegetable tanned hides. Increase in demand will increase manufacturing of vegetable tanned leather and decrease the manufacturing of chrome leather and eventually maybe we’ll see a turnaround in the industry.
- If that step is out of reach for you, then the next step is to purchase the highest quality top grain chrome leather you can afford. The better the quality of leather, the longer it will last.
- If you can’t afford a top grain quality leather, then I strongly urge you to reconsider buying leather. The lower quality engineered genuine leather is not really leather at all and is the worst offender. See here… it is the most toxic and will not last longer or be more comfortable than fabric upholstery.
- And the last step is where we at Mother Nature’s Cleaning comes in. The secret to long lasting leather, second only to the quality it started out as, is maintenance. Leather starts out with a moisture content of about 25%. This is the level which we strive to maintain by cleaning and conditioning your pieces every six months. In addition to the moisture content, every professional cleaning restores the protective coating that prevents staining and oil absorption, both which can excel deterioration and decay.
So, the moral of my very long story
- If you’re going to invest in leather, get the best you can possibly afford.
- Go for vegetable tanned pieces which will last longer and or less impactful on the environment.
- Maintain your leather by properly cleaning and conditioning every six months. Avoid using any household cleaners.
- Take care of your leather, so it can last as long as possible.
And if you slip up, that’s OK too… We can help you catch up or restore a leather that you let go too long between cleanings.
Happy Cleaning!
