3 Things To Know About Vegan Leather And Cruelty-Free Alternatives To Animal Leather

Vegans who love a rocker/biker aesthetic rejoice – vegan leather is becoming more and more ubiquitous and varied. Nowadays, pineapple waste can be transformed into a trendy leather handbag and cork can be made into your Grease-esque grunge get-up. Here, we dispel the rumours surrounding cruelty-free leather – Is faux leather always more sustainable than animal leather? No, not really – and give you the lowdown on the ingenious vegan leather technologies hitting the market.

What is vegan leather?

Vegan leather is leather that imitates the appearance and feel of treated animal hides without any creatures being harmed. Synthetic leather made of polyurethane (PU) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) have long been popular choices among designers for their easy customizability and cheap price. However, these are also not ideal because they are not biodegradable. These faux leathers take a long time to decompose and release toxins in landfill, trading one eco-evil for another.

The term ‘faux leather’ is now coming to represent a distinguishing between plastic leather and that made from more organic, biodegradable sources like fruit or cork tree.

What's the difference between vegan leather vs animal leather?

ethical leather jackets hanging on clothing rack

Traditionally, cows, sheep, and alligators have been slaughtered for human wearing. Not only this, but animal skins require great amounts of water, energy and chemicals to be processed into what we recognize as usable leather. Waste materials produced by tanneries, where animal leather processing occurs, contain pollutants like lime sludge and acids. In short, both the earth and its creatures are adversely impacted by the conventional leather industry.

In contrast, ethically sourced leathers don’t require any animals to die and also have a more environmentally-friendly post-consumer life. Plant-based leathers like a coconut leather masterminded by an Indian start-up breaks down within 150 days, compared to PU leather’s 500 years.

These low-impact derivatives are made from a library of organic materials, including mushroom, corn, banana, cactus, leaves and cork. They are often even made from agricultural waste. While most vegan leathers don’t boast the same durability as traditional leather, certain alternatives like those made from mushroom are relatively long-lasting.

What are the types of vegan leather?

different swaths of colors of cruelty free leather

There are multiple vegan-friendly options that don’t include a plastic sheen. Here are six leather alternatives that will align with cruelty-free and earth-conscious shoppers’ values.

Cactus leather

Cactus leather is made from the fast-growing prickly pear cactus. Harvesting occurs only twice a year, cutting only mature cactus leaves, so the plant can continue to grow. This cruelty-free leather is more breathable than other animal skin alternatives, making it a popular vegan sustainable handbag and clothing material.

Banana leather

Banana leather is made from banana fibre waste. These agricultural by-products are normally left on the ground to biodegrade. However, this type of animal-free leather can deprive water-residing animals of oxygen if incorrectly disposed of. Furthermore, there are more sustainable options as banana trees are only harvested once in their lifespan.

Piñatex leather

Piñatex is made from pineapple leaves. Approximately 76 million tons of these leaves are produced each year. The leather-like fabric was first invented by a professor at London’s Royal College of Art. While worlds more eco-friendly than animal skin, pineapple leather has low biodegradability compared to some other types of ethical leather.

shoemaker examining piece of animal leather

Vegan cork leather

Cork leather is made from an evergreen native to Southwest Europe and Northwest Africa: the Quercus suber. The tree itself is credited for the ability to offset greenhouse gas emissions by locking up CO2 in its wood. Cork leather is lightweight, flexible, soft and hypoallergenic.

Mushroom leather

Another bio-based ethically sourced leather, this one is made from mycelium, which are like the root systems of mushrooms. What results is a supple material not unlike suede. The downfall of mushroom leathers are that they are not fully biodegradable because their components include plastic.

Apple leather

Apple leather is made from the fruit’s peels and pomace (i.e. solid remains of fruit after pressing) from the juice and apple sauce industry. Similar to Piñatex and bananas, this type of cruelty-free leather is a highly renewable resource with low CO² impact.

Conclusion

There are even more leather alternatives that haven’t been mentioned here, such as leaf leather, kombucha leather, and leather made from grains. While the journey towards making non-animal leather as durable as traditional leather continues, it’s undeniable that there are more and more options for animal-conscious shoppers becoming available.

FAQ about vegan leather

What is vegan leather made from?

Ethically sourced leather can be made from a variety of plant and fruit materials, not just polyurethane. These range anywhere from cacti and pineapple to cork and rescued plastic bottles.

What are the most eco-friendly vegan leathers?

Cork leather is a renewable leather resource. This material is extracted from cork oak trees without felling or damaging the native tree. Apple leather is made of from purely food waste and is highly durable.

Is all cruelty-free leather sustainable?

Not all ethical leathers are built the same. Faux leathers made from artificial products like PU and PVC (plastic, in essence) actually take longer than animal leathers to naturally decompose. If comparing the sustainability of vegan leathers, these should be avoided.

Sources:
  • https://www.thebetterindia.com/227280/kerala-startup-malai-vegan-leather-coconut-water-biodegradable-sustainable-innovation-gop94/
  • https://www.sailrite.com/Faux-Leather-Better-Than-Real

 

Meet Our Ambassador Of The Month, Daniela from Zustain

Prev Post

Your Guide To Shopping Ethical Jewellery: What It Is & How To Identify It

Next Post

Reviews (6 comments)

  • 💎Diamond168 💎ให้ไม่ได้แต่ความเสียใจ On

    https://br.advfn.com/forum/perfil/bluezardriri9
    https://scrapbox.io/noneyseo1/NonneySeo
    https://cara.app/noney168/all
    https://www.bitsdujour.com/profiles/aCQrfW
    https://yesilkartforum.com/forum/user/noney1688
    https://forum.lexulous.com/user/bluezardriri
    https://popl.co/profile/KJdIwsLe/dash
    https://github.com/Programming-from-A-to-Z/A2Z-F15/issues/30
    https://github.com/supercrabtree/k/issues/126
    https://github.com/youranreus/G/issues/122
    https://github.com/udlbook/udlbook/issues/275
    https://github.com/LeeJunHyun/Image_Segmentation/issues/99
    https://github.com/defunkt/ambitious_activeldap/issues/14
    https://github.com/openai/sparse_attention/issues/13
    https://github.com/youranreus/G/issues/127
    https://github.com/dashpradeep99/https-github.com-miguellgt-books/issues/6
    https://github.com/youranreus/G/issues/126
    https://github.com/HoyDiamond/DiamondSeo01/issues/1
    https://github.com/voidint/g/issues/153
    https://github.com/cy4nguy/PythonSimpleKeylogger/issues/3
    https://github.com/youranreus/G/issues/125
    https://github.com/gzc/isystem/issues/1
    https://github.com/youranreus/G/issues/124
    https://github.com/MiRO92/uYou-for-YouTube/issues/513
    https://github.com/MiRO92/uYou-for-YouTube/issues/514
    https://github.com/zquestz/s/issues/189
    https://github.com/MiRO92/uYou-for-YouTube/issues/513
    https://github.com/SaeruHikari/SakuraEngine-Old/issues/3
    https://github.com/ntop/n2n/issues/1194
    https://github.com/xyba1337/ValorantEZTS/issues/3
    https://github.com/henryjeff/portfolio-website/issues/16
    https://github.com/ethereumbook/ethereumbook/issues/1231
    https://github.com/EllanJiang/GameFramework/issues/76
    https://github.com/HoyDiamond/DiamondSeo01/issues/2
    https://github.com/qianjiahao/MongoDB/issues/2
    https://github.com/u21h2/nacs/issues/13
    https://github.com/Programming-from-A-to-Z/A2Z-F15/issues/31
    https://github.com/udlbook/udlbook/issues/276
    https://github.com/qw3rtman/p/issues/35
    https://github.com/wizardforcel/eloquent-js-3e-zh/issues/22
    https://github.com/aixed/WeChat-Hook/issues/110
    https://github.com/Pleumpi1688/Kittichaiya1680/discussions/1
    https://github.com/bitsandbytes-foundation/bitsandbytes/discussions/1631
    https://github.com/rafaballerini/GitTutorial/issues/200
    https://github.com/Yalantis/uCrop/issues/948
    https://github.com/harelba/q/issues/343
    https://github.com/harelba/q/issues/342
    https://github.com/Usani2541/ASS4_SEC1_603021736-0/issues/1

  • Pongpisut On

    https://movie24h.info/
    https://movie24h.info/contact
    https://movie24h.info/huayThai
    https://medium.com/trenoiye/ซื้อหวยออนไลน์เว็บไหนดี-10-เชื่อถือได้-จ่ายจริง-รวมเว็บหวยออนไลน์-0861729ff258 https://medium.com/trenoiye/หวยออนไลน์-เว็บแทงหวย-24-ชม-เว็บตรง-ไม่อั้น-หวยไทย-หวยลาว-bbe345b22fcb
    https://medium.com/gimiidadii/แนะนำ-10-เว็บแทงหวยออนไลน์-ที่ดีที่สุด-ได้แก่-77lotto-huay-ork-ufalotto-powerball-lotto-net-1a7c8c97d756 https://medium.com/gimiidadii/ซื้อหวยออนไลน์เว็บไหนดี-10-เชื่อถือได้-จ่ายจริง-รวมเว็บหวยออนไลน์-f945cb29c5e3
    https://medium.com/gimiidadii/หวยออนไลน์-เว็บหวยออนไลน์-แทงหวย24-ไม่มีเลขอั้น-หวยไทย-หวยลาว-44ba32159cf9 https://medium.com/naafessaa/หวยออนไลน์-เว็บแทงหวย-24-ชม-เว็บตรง-ไม่อั้น-หวยไทย-หวยลาว-ac7a417cd69a
    https://medium.com/naafessaa/ซื้อหวยออนไลน์เว็บไหนดี-10-เชื่อถือได้-จ่ายจริง-รวมเว็บหวยออนไลน์-93a833aaeead https://medium.com/naafessaa/️-️แทงหวยออนไลน์-24-ชั่วโมงแทงหวย24-เว็บแทงหวยยอดนิยม-ครบจบทุกหวยออนไลน์ง่ายๆ-acdc9c656847
    https://medium.com/qavviikhan/แทงหวย24-เว็บแทงหวยออนไลน์อันดับหนึ่ง-ซื้อหวยออนไลน์เว็บไหนดี-10-เชื่อถือได้-จ่ายจริง-895b0f709624 https://medium.com/qavviikhan/ซื้อหวยออนไลน์เว็บไหนดี-10-เชื่อถือได้-จ่ายจริง-รวมเว็บหวยออนไลน์-68fc296d571d
    https://medium.com/qavviikhan/แทงหวยออนไลน์-24-ชั่วโมง-หวยออนไลน์-ซื้อง่าย-เว็บแทงหวย-ตรวจหวยฟรี-24-ชม-cc0461e8c431 https://medium.com/shaniiibhi/หวยออนไลน์-ซื้อง่าย-เว็บแทงหวย-ตรวจหวยฟรี-24-ชม-b96efd2e8e51
    https://medium.com/glennmexwell8/เว็บชื้อหวยออนไลน์-ชื้อหวยออนไลน์เว็บไหนดี-รีวิว-10-เว็บชื้อหวย-ชื้อง่าย-จ่ายจริง-980c7d69f890 medium.com/hamnipou/หวยออนไลน์-แทงหวย-ตรวจหวยฟรี-ซื้อ-หวยไทย-ลาว-ยี่กี-24-ชม-37267a88fdfc
    https://medium.com/tagjuter/1bbb-ซื้อหวยออนไลน์เว็บไหนดี-10-เว็บแทงหวยออนไลน์-จ่ายจริง-เชื่อถือได้-อันดับ1-a3ca1aebd29e medium.com/tagjuter/ซื้อหวยออนไลน์เว็บไหนดี-10-เว็บแทงหวยออนไลน์-จ่ายจริง-เชื่อถือได้-อันดับ1-46f218257f52
    medium.com/jamasttur/ซื้อหวยออนไลน์เว็บไหนดี-10-เว็บแทงหวยออนไลน์-จ่ายจริง-เชื่อถือได้-อันดับ1-fec55115ccce medium.com/jamasttur/ซื้อหวยออนไลน์เว็บไหนดี-ffa64e444436
    https://medium.com/hamnireir/ซื้อหวยออนไลน์เว็บไหนดี-10-เชื่อถือได้-จ่ายจริง-รวมเว็บหวยออนไลน์-cb2d98df20d0 medium.com/hamnireir/ซื้อหวยออนไลน์-แทงหวย24-ชั่วโมง-สูงสุดบาทละ-900-74cd1f0b5428
    medium.com/hamnireir/ซื้อหวยออนไลน์เว็บไหนดี-10-เชื่อถือได้-จ่ายจริง-รวมเว็บหวยออนไลน์-664836bb9c9d https://medium.com/gimiidadii/แทงหวยออนไลน์-24-ชั่วโมง-21250856ad85
    https://medium.com/kmnbvgyg/10-ซื้อหวยออนไลน์เว็บไหนดี-2568-เว็บหวยออนไลน์อันดับ1-เชื่อถือได้-a1f1027b1645 https://medium.com/kmnbvgyg/หวยออนไลน์-เว็บแทงหวย-24-ชม-เว็บตรง-ไม่อั้น-หวยไทย-หวยลาว-c14c2afd756f
    https://medium.com/kmnbvgyg/onebet-เว็บพนันบอลดีที่สุด-10-เว็บแทงบอลออนไลน์-2568-6d6f08094f3d https://medium.com/jamasttur/ซื้อหวยออนไลน์เว็บไหนดี-10-เชื่อถือได้-จ่ายจริง-รวมเว็บหวยออนไลน์-dec14490f391
    https://www.readawrite.com/a/900cd16608e03aabf8768b0be26fa305
    https://www.readawrite.com/a/8dac9bbc3a0b85315dad103b49ce3481
    https://www.readawrite.com/a/b221f5786aa33e06f67a0c854a939eb7
    https://www.readawrite.com/a/b382038af5b1966caefb80008c6d53ce
    https://www.readawrite.com/a/dbac7cb23c6ce134b7f9f90224e1f452
    https://www.readawrite.com/a/ab1efab97935c950f39a1e4085f5acf3

  • شركة كيان لنقل العفش On

    شركة كيان لنقل العفش بالرياض والمدينة المنورة وجدة ومكة والطائف والدمام تقديم لكم دليل كامل لشركات نقل العفش بالمملكة العربية السعودية
    https://mycanadafitness.com/ شركة كيان لنقل العفش
    https://mycanadafitness.com/forum.html منتدي نقل العفش
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnitureriyadh.html شركة نقل اثاث بالرياض
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturejaddah.html شركة نقل اثاث بجدة
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnituremecca.html شركة نقل اثاث بمكة
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnituretaif.html شركة نقل اثاث بالطائف
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnituremadina.html شركة نقل اثاث بالمدينة المنورة
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnituredammam.html شركة نقل اثاث بالدمام
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturekhobar.html شركة نقل اثاث بالخبر
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnituredhahran.html شركة نقل اثاث بالظهران
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturejubail.html شركة نقل اثاث بالجبيل
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnitureqatif.html شركة نقل اثاث بالقطيف
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnitureahsa.html شركة نقل اثاث بالاحساء
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturekharj.html شركة نقل اثاث بالخرج
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturekhamismushit.html شركة نقل اثاث بخميس مشيط
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnitureabha.html شركة نقل اثاث بابها
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturenajran.html شركة نقل اثاث بنجران
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturejazan.html شركة نقل اثاث بجازان
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnitureasir.html شركة نقل اثاث بعسير
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturehail.html شركة نقل اثاث بحائل
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnitureqassim.html شركة نقل عفش بالقصيم
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnitureyanbu.html شركة نقل اثاث بينبع
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnitureburaidah.html شركة نقل عفش ببريدة
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturehafralbatin.html شركة نقل عفش بحفر الباطن
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurniturerabigh.html شركة نقل عفش برابغ
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnituretabuk.html شركة نقل عفش بتبوك
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnitureasfan.html شركة نقل عفش بعسفان
    https://mycanadafitness.com/movingfurnituresharora.html شركة نقل عفش بشرورة
    https://mycanadafitness.com/companis-moving-riyadh.html شركات نقل العفش بالرياض
    https://mycanadafitness.com/cars-moving-riyadh.html سيارات نقل العفش بالرياض
    https://mycanadafitness.com/company-number-moving-riyadh.html ارقام شركات نقل العفش بالرياض
    https://mycanadafitness.com/company-moving-jeddah.html شركات نقل العفش بجدة
    https://mycanadafitness.com/price-moving-jeddah.html اسعار نقل العفش بجدة
    https://mycanadafitness.com/company-moving-mecca.html شركات نقل العفش بمكة

  • شركة جلي بلاط بالجبيل On

    شركة مكافحة حشرات بالجبيل وكذلك شركة كشف تسربات المياه بالجبيل وتنظيف خزانات وتنظيف الموكيت والسجاد والكنب والشقق والمنازل بالجبيل وتنظيف الخزانات بالجبيل وتنظيف المساجد بالجبيل شركة تنظيف بالجبيل تنظيف المسابح بالجبيل
    https://jumperads.com/jubail/anti-insects-company-jubail.html شركة مكافحة حشرات بالجبيل
    https://jumperads.com/jubail/water-leaks-detection-company-jubail.html شركة كشف تسربات بالجبيل
    https://jumperads.com/jubail/jubail-company-surfaces.html شركة عزل اسطح بالجبيل
    https://jumperads.com/jubail/jubail-company-sewage.html شركة تسليك مجاري بالجبيل
    https://jumperads.com/jubail/jubail-cleaning-company-sofa.html شركة تنظيف كنب بالجبيل
    https://jumperads.com/jubail/jubail-cleaning-company-mosques.html شركة تنظيف مساجد بالجبيل
    https://jumperads.com/jubail/jubail-cleaning-company-Carpet.html شركة تنظيف سجاد بالجبيل
    https://jumperads.com/jubail/jubail-cleaning-company-tanks.html شركة تنظيف خزانات بالجبيل
    https://jumperads.com/jubail/jubail-cleaning-company-swimming-bath.html شركة تنظيف وصيانة مسابح بالجبيل
    https://jumperads.com/jubail/jubail-cleaning-company-Furniture.html شركة تنظيف الاثاث بالجبيل
    https://jumperads.com/jubail/jubail-cleaning-company-home.html شركة تنظيف شقق بالجبيل
    https://jumperads.com/jubail/jubail-cleaning-company-Carpets.html شركة تنظيف موكيت بالجبيل
    https://jumperads.com/jubail/jubail-cleaning-company.html شركة تنظيف مجالس بالجبيل
    https://jumperads.com/jubail/jubail-cleaning-company-house.html شركة تنظيف منازل بالجبيل
    https://jumperads.com/jubail/jubail-cleaning-company-curtains.html شركة تنظيف ستائر بالجبيل
    https://jumperads.com/jubail/jubail-cleaning-company-Villas.html شركة تنظيف فلل بالجبيل
    https://jumperads.com/jubail/jubail-company-tile.html شركة جلي بلاط بالجبيل

  • شركة الصقر الدولي ارخص شركات نقل عفش On

    https://www.atar-almadinah.com/%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%B2%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%B9%D9%81%D8%B4-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%A7.html
    https://www.atar-almadinah.com/%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%BA%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%81-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%81%D8%B4-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%A7.html
    https://www.atar-almadinah.com/%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%BA%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%81-%D8%A7%D8%AB%D8%A7%D8%AB-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B6.html
    https://www.atar-almadinah.com/%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%84%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%81%D8%B4-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B6.html
    https://www.atar-almadinah.com/%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A9-%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84-%D8%B9%D9%81%D8%B4-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AD%D8%AF-%D8%B1%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A9.html
    https://www.atar-almadinah.com/%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%AE%D8%B5-%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84-%D8%B9%D9%81%D8%B4-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%86.html

Leave A Comment