When you pick up a good pair of leather shoes, bags, or jackets, the first thing you notice is that unique, beautiful scent. There is no such thing.
This is a smell you're unlikely to encounter when driving a new car, even if the interior somehow looks like leather. Instead, the smell of off-gassing plastic fills your nose.
Plastic breaks down much faster than leather. It will peel off and crumble, and once that happens, it cannot be repaired.
That's because “vegan leather” or “faux leather” or “leatherette” or “leather” or whatever car companies want to call it, doesn't come close to real animal skin.
Let's call it what it is. 100% petroleum-based plastic. What does that mean in terms of “sustainability”?
Last month, I went to Italy with a friend. Is it leather?is a global campaign to educate consumers about leather, one of the oldest materials used by humans. Contrary to what environmentalists and animal rights activists say, it is renewable, practical, and humane.
my destination is Linapela large international leather trade fair held in Milan. There I met some of the best leather craftsmen and companies in the world. It was an eye-opening experience and a reminder that no matter how deceptive brands are, nothing beats the real thing.
Our journey started in Pompeii. Ruins of a tannery It dates back to the 1st century. Ancient Romans used urine to tan their hides. In modern times, they have switched to chemicals such as chromium. Now, the process produces a significant amount of pollutants, but in recent years leather manufacturers have pioneered the use of organic compounds like olive leaf extract.
While in Milan, I had the opportunity to speak with leather artisans and influencers. tanner leatherstein About the things consumers encounter when purchasing a car. When you open the door and look at the interior and seats, you'll be told that this is Nappa leather.
Does it mean anything or is it just a sales pitch?
According to Leatherstein, Napa leather (so called because it is made using a process pioneered in Napa, California) is a type of finish that is “applied to the leather. Requires a thick finishing layer. .Resistance and durability.”
However, because Napa leather starts from high-quality full-grain leather, it doesn't require as much finishing as lower-quality hides.
“You can almost think of it in terms of makeup,” says Leatherstein. “They're animals, so if their skin is too imperfect because they're scratching all over the place, they're going to need a lot of makeup to standardize the look, and they're going to need a lot of plastic to cover it up.”
“But if you have naturally clean skin (maybe 10-5% of your total skin), you don't need to wear a lot of makeup because it's naturally beautiful. So you can get this great look with minimal layers of plastic. Now you can finish in the top position. [meeting] Despite meeting the requirements, you can still enjoy the natural chaotic look of the grain, i.e. the grain of the leather. ”
So if you hear that your car has Nappa leather in its interior, that's a good sign. “There's a lot of trickery going on inside a car,” Leatherstein says. “As consumers, when we buy a luxury car, we expect genuine leather, but unfortunately car brands are using plastic materials that have leather in their names, and many people think it's leather. .”
Real leather isn't just beautiful, Leatherstein says, it's also good for the environment. “Plastic breaks down much faster than leather. It crumbles into pieces and cannot be repaired once that happens. You can just throw it in the garbage, but plastic doesn't go anywhere. It turns into microplastics and gets into the water. , into the soil and into the plants and vegetables.”
We also met harness maker and leatherworker Ben Geisler, who explained to us the various animal skins used to make leather, from cows and sheep to pigs, sharks and even crocodile. .
Check out this video to learn more about our time learning about leather in Italy.
– YouTubewww.youtube.com
