Tuesday, March 08, 2016

The Leather Question

Among environment advocates, the question regarding the ecological soundness of the use of leather will always be an important one.

Personally, I use genuine leather. I own a leather satchel which carries my personal items, and I have owned it for five years now (I got it from a trip to Bangkok). I also have a leather case for my sun glasses and another for my iPhone and chargers. And like any ordinary working man, I own a bunch of leather belts and shoes.

They all have served me well, and continue to do so. And as many leather enthusiasts like to say, leather just gets better looking as time goes by. The scuffs and tears that would make on items of other materials look worn, ragged, and thus unwearable just does exactly the opposite to leather: they add character, and make it more appealing.

But I have often been confronted with the question: Isn’t leather part of an unsustainable industry?

The question, like most important questions in environmental advocacy, can be answered in different ways, and one is not necessarily the right or wrong answer.

The arguments of the anti-leather camp are valid and worth discussing. Essentially, they say, the production of leather is part of the practices that sustain an industry that kills animals. It is the same moral dilemma that confronts vegetarians who still consume dairy. Vegans argue that the female animals who stop producing milk still will eventually end up in the slaughterhouse, so the manufacture of dairy simply constitutes just one stage of meat production. In the same vein, vegans argue that the use of leather generally contributes to the demand for animal-based products.

On the other hand, leather is a high-quality product. Leather jackets and coats offer real warmth if you use them during fall and winter. And if used as a bag or container, leather will give your items ample protection from the elements. You can have one leather biker jacket in your closet and with proper care, it could last for decades, and it’s something you can bequeath to the next generation. This is why you can find decades-old leather jackets in vintage shops! Meanwhile, faux or vegan leather items never can live up to that standard: They won’t feel as warm, and do not take scrapes well. You can use them for two years perhaps, and then you would need to throw them away.

Guest blog post by Richard A. Kimball. Richard is a native of the beautiful, sunny California and enjoy being outdoors. His advocacy is to write about the environment to be able to educate people that we need to conserve and protect Mother Nature.