Why vegan leather is the future of the forward thinking fashion industry

Animal leather has been in disrepute for quite some time. Not only because of the use of animal skin and bone glue and animal cruelty. The production of leather also requires the use of toxic substances to make the animal skin durable. These are not only bad to the environment, but also to our health.

Fortunately, leather alternatives have better things to offer. Among the various materials used to make it, it's easy to lose track. It is only vegan if no animal skin and also no animal bone glues are used. Instead, synthetic or vegetable fibers are used, such as from pineapple or mushrooms. Therefore, we cannot speak of leather as such. Against this naming is also the federation of the German leather industry, according to which the designation leather is to be used only for the genuine animal product. Nevertheless, the similarity is clear, which is why the designation as leather is used in the following for the vegetable and synthetic materials.

The difference with the classic artificial leather is that it is mainly obtained from petroleum, which unlike the vegetable fibers, takes a very long time to decompose when it is thrown away. In addition, faux leather also often uses animal bone glue, which is why it is not vegan. 

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Pineapple leather, called Piñatex, is produced from the leaves of a pineapple. It is odorless and proved to be as strong as real leather. However, it has a much smaller ecological footprint. No additional acreage, water or pesticides are needed, as pineapples are already grown on a large scale. Moreover, processing the pineapple leaves is also an additional source of income for the farmers. Some manufacturers who already use the pineapple leather in their fashion are, for example, the shoe brands Camper or Nae.

Leather made from mushroom fibers resembles real leather not only visually, but especially in smell. Mushroom leather can be obtained in several ways. One variant is used by the Berlin-based company Zvnder, which uses the fibers of the tinder fungus. A tree fungus that is particularly widespread in Romania. Leather is also already being made from kombucha mushrooms or the root fibers of some mushroom species. The company MycoWorks from San Franciso has already cooperated with fashion label Hermès with its vegan mushroom leather, which is combined with corn husks.

The Nopal cactus is the basis for the cactus leather. This grows mainly in Mexico and was converted there for the first time by the brand Desserto into vegan leather. No pesticides, herbicides or plastics are used in the process. The Nopal cactus is easy to take care of, as it requires minimal water.  Meanwhile, several suppliers are already using the visually similar and durable leather alternative made from cactus.

Cork seems to be one of the most effective vegan leather alternatives. The production is very sustainable because it is obtained from the bark of cork oaks. These do not have to be felled for it and constantly produce new bark after. Our environment also benefits from the peeling of the bark, as these trees convert four times as much carbon dioxide into oxygen without bark than with. Other advantages are that cork leather is particularly waterproof, warm and also breathable.

Brands like KorkundKulör and SnapPap use paper leather. The washable and tear-resistant paper is made from cellulose and latex. Thereby, the vegan paper leather is also available in a wide variety of bright colors. It is very similar in appearance to the original. Paper leather can also be bought unprocessed. This is especially popular with DIY-Artists, because it is particularly easy to process.

As a supplement, to the above most common methods of making vegan leather, there are also numerous other methods. All methods have advantages and disadvantages and are only just at their beginning. There still has to be done a lot of experimentation to find the perfect alternative.

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Other options include Banana Leather, which is made from the trunk of the banana tree. Coffee Leather is made from coffee leaves, the recycled coffee and coffee beans. Apple remnants are applied to cotton fabrics with polyurethane to make Apple Leather. The brand AppleSkin is one of the biggest brands, which produce apple leather. Grape remnants also become Grape Leather. Or Teak Leather, which is made only from the leaves of the teak tree, giving it a unique grain. All these variants usually have the same smell as the product from which they are made, and in this case have no resemblance to real leather. The possibilities in the production of vegan leather alternatives are endless and you can certainly be excited about which variants will prevail.

“Hide” Puffer Jacket – Nanushka 595 EURO

Long Button Up Trenchcoat – Julia Allert 497 EURO

Long Trenchcoat - Each Other 850 EURO

Cropped Blazer – Martin Appélt 2.390 EURO

Mini Purse Skirt – Martin Appélt 990 EURO

„Nora Malaga“ Wine Pants – Aggi 220 EURO

“OH V Furbie” Bag- Outhouse 275 EURO

“Jordaan” Bag – Osier 300 EURO

„Sigma Chillie“ Sandals – Balluta 250 EURO

“Lambda Off-White Tan” Boots – Balluta 265 EURO

Clothes, that look and feel like leather, can easily be made without animal materials. But here it is important to pay attention to the quality of the vegan leather materials. Not all products are manufactured in an environmentally conscious way, some even use plastic for processing. Pollutants are released into nature by low-cost manufacturers. On the other hand it is not meaningful to dispose already bought leather products and to replace these by new vegan leather imitations. However, it is more pleasing that consumers can decide for themselves which leather products they will buy in the future and that the fashion industry is already initiating the changeover to vegan, environmentally conscious leather alternatives.