Why Vegetable Tanned Leather?
The tanning method used to create the leather in products is a conspicuously omitted detail in the product description of most leather goods retailers. Over 90% of the leather currently produced uses the much faster and cheaper chrome tanning method. Middle market and luxury retailers alike utilize chrome tanning to cut production costs, while continuing to increase their prices. Their profit margins grow, while quality of their products declines.
Material Production is the Foundation of Quality, Performance, and Ethics.
Process & Basic Information
Vegetable tanning is a time-honored practice steeped in tradition. In a painstaking process that takes up to 3 months, the hide is treated with naturally derived tannins, obtained from tree bark, leaves, and other plant material. The result is the most durable, long lasting, beautiful leather that can be produced. Vegetable tanned leather breaks in and grows more beautiful with age, developing gorgeous patina and deepening in color. It forms to the wearer as it breaks in, providing unmatched comfort.
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Chrome tanning was developed in the mid-1850s to speed up the process of leather tanning. The process involves soaking the hide in chromium salts; it can be automated and reduces the process down to just a day or two. Being cheaper, as well as less time and labor intensive, it has largely replaced vegetable tanning. Chrome tanned leather doesn't develop patina over time in the way that vegetable tanned leather does, and although it can still be long lasting, it doesn't match the incredibly longevity of veg-tanned leather.
Ethics and Ecological Impacts
Vegetable tanning uses naturally procured tannins to treat the leather - instead of harsh chemicals. After the invention of chrome tanning, this new method quickly became the go-to method due to the speed and reduced cost. Vegetable tanning is a meticulous process requiring skill and experience; it's produced by artisans. Due to the cost, time, and high level of skill required, it's not a process that can be done at large scale by low skilled laborers or children. Today only a small percentage of the leather produced is vegetable tanned; I source my vegetable tanned leather from carefully selected premier vegetable tanneries located in Tuscany. They are all family run (multi generational), and are members of the 'Consorzio vera Pelle Italiana Conciata al Vegetale' (Italian Vegetable Tanned Leather Consortium). The Consortium consists of 19 member tanneries, which adhere to strict regulations regarding the traditional vegetable tanning processes, as well as the working conditions, safety, and wages for employees of the tanneries, and the processes of purifying wastewater and supporting a circular economy where the waste from different parts of the processes are turned into useful materials for other supply chains. You can find out more about the Consortium here. To find out more information about my sourcing practices, including specific tanneries I obtain my leather from, visit my transparency page. Although, by design, leather does not easily biodegrade - the tanning process is specifically geared to prevent this - vegetable tanned leather will biodegrade with time, and as it utilizes natural materials for the process, the leather does not cause harm to the environment once discarded (eventually - it can last a lifetime or more with proper care).
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​Chrome tanning makes up around 90% of the leather tanned today. In the US and Europe, there are regulations on working conditions and wastewater processing for tanneries; unfortunately much of chrome tanning takes place in developing countries where regulations are lax or non-existent. Workers in these tanneries typically work without protective gear and are exposed to the toxic chemicals required in the tanning process; they're paid low wages and work long hours. A large concentration of these tanneries are located in Bangladesh, India, and China; children as young as 7 have been discovered working in tanneries in these locations. Many harmful chemicals are involved in this tanning process, but the chromium sulfates can pose a particularly high risk; sun drying and boiling can oxidize and convert the chromium 111, used in the tanning process, into the extremely toxic hexavalent chromium, chromium V1. It's common for workers producing chrome tanned leather to suffer from serious illnesses due to their exposure, including lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, skin cancer, and kidney cancer. When chromium comes into contact with the skin it causes dryness, cracking, and sores, known as ‘chrome holes’.
It's also common practice to dump untreated wastewater and solid waste that contains leftover chromium directly into waterways in some locations, causing massive harm to the environment and communities both near the tanneries as well as those downstream. The run off and scraps are often consumed by animals and subsequently by humans: 25% of the chickens in Bangladesh were found to contain harmful levels of hexavalent chromium. According to the ‘Journal of Cleaner Production’ 2014: ‘Highly polluted sediments resulting from discharge of chemicals adversely affect the ecological functioning of rivers. High concentration of heavy metals has been found in the river Ganga and its tributaries, as one example. Increased salinization of rivers and groundwater has led to the loss of agricultural production and reduced the quality of drinking water in these locations as well. When large amounts of chromium enter the water system, it can cause respiratory problems, infertility, and birth defects. Chrome tanned leather does not easily biodegrade, as with vegetable tanned leather; but conversely, it releases any residual chemicals from the tanning process as it does, which is harmful to the environment.
Performance & Characteristics
Vegetable tanning produces leather that is the longest lasting and possesses natural beauty that is unmatched. Unlike other leather, it's not a static product; it tells a story. Over time, the leather deepens in tone and typically darkens in color a bit (this is more pronounced in lighter colored pieces - in leather that is dyed dark the change will be more subtle), and develops gorgeous patina. It typically starts out with a stiffer hand-feel than chrome tanned leather, but will break in, both softening and forming to the wearer.​
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Chrome tanning can produce leather that is reasonably long lasting; likewise the leather produced can be prone to cracking earlier than you'd expect if the tanning is done poorly. Chrome tanned leather does not develop patina over time; the color stays more or less consistent in color and it has a more uniform look. It generally has a soft hand-feel right from the start and doesn't need to be 'broken in'. The leather has a greater ease of penetration during the dyeing process than vegetable tanned leather, which means chrome tanned leather is available in a larger array of colors.
