While many people find the term vegan leather confusing, there is a simple way to look at it. Animal leather is usually made from the skin of animals the vast majority comes from the beef industry, i.e. cows, but animal leather can also be derived from the skin of pigs, sheep, snakes, horses, and more. Vegan leather, or faux leather, imitates the look and feel of actual leather by using synthetic materials plant based materials like mushroom, pineapple leaves, cactus, cork, and apple peels to get a similar consistency. However, the majority of vegan leather is made out of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyurethane (PU), both of which are petroleum-based plastics. But as long as the leather isn't derived from any animal products (there are some alternatives that are not animal hide but still bio-based, made from materials like discarded shrimp exoskeletons), it can be considered vegan.
Faux Versus Real Leather
If you've decided on a vegan lifestyle or are simply dabbling in plant based ways of living faux leather offers an alternative to the standard animal hides. Real leather is made through a lengthy process in which the animal skin is heavily salted, soaked in calcium oxide, tanned, and then put through the liquoring method, which includes adding fats and oils to the leather to make it softer and stronger. If you're familiar with real leather, you'll be able to recognize its signature earthy scent due to the tanning process, and malleability after you wear it in for a while While leather can be finished with everything from formaldehyde, and arsenic the most common forms of tanning are chromium and vegetable tanning. Chromium uses chemicals to preserve the animal's skin, and offers more water and heat resistance for the leather products it's applied to. But this form of tanning produces chromium waste, which pollutes the neighboring waterways. It’s can be a toxic process for the people working in the tanneries to finish the leather.
Vegan Leather in Fashion
The fashion industry has seen a rise in alternative leather options from fish skin to pineapple leaves to cork leather. High-end fashion brands like John Galliano, Prada, and Christian Dior have dabbled in fish skin options for their products; the practice itself has roots to multiple Indigenous groups across the globe. Brands like Nanushka and Hugo Boss, meanwhile, have sought to use leather alternatives that are completely vegan.