LEATHER: An Honest Material in a Confusing and Changing Environment

Abstract

• The industry must push back against inferior substitutes without the appearance of rejecting innovation and at the same time must continue to embrace and evolve to the ever changing demands of the marketplace• The industry must speak truths: transparency is critical to maintain as there are no secrets in the industry that we are concerned about. • The industry continues to have areas to improves, and sectors which are not compliant, but we know that properly made leather is a sustainable, good material of value.• Today’s Processing is safe and environmentally friendly • Most of the non-finished leather materials (why do we call non leather making proteins waste?) can be used for other things and we can recycle most of our natural resource. • Most of the alternates are hidden in bad chemistry, poor origins, high levels of real waste, short usable lives, poor after life options and they are only being sold as “leather” because everything else about them is weak and/or overrated.