What’s so great about vegan leather? Only everything. Number one, it’s not made from the skins of dead animals. Plus, it’s eco-friendly—and très chic.
But what is vegan leather?
Vegan leather is often made from polyurethane, a polymer that can be made to order for any designer’s whim. It can also be made from innovative and sustainable materials such as pineapple leaves, cork, apple peels, other fruit waste, and recycled plastic and used to create products that put animal skins to shame.
Stella McCartney is on the growing list of designers who feature only vegan leather in their collections. And no wonder: Vegan leather is versatile. From moto jackets in every cut and color to the perfect little black dress—and even intimate items that are sure to tickle one’s fancy—there’s a vegan leather version.
That’s just for starters. You can also find vegan leather shoes, boots, handbags, billfolds, and seat covers for your car. And if you have deep pockets, Tesla recently became the latest luxury automaker to offer vegan leather seating, joining BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, and Ferrari.
Not only does vegan leather make you look good, it also makes you feel good because it’s cruelty-free. More than a billion cows, pigs, goats, sheep, alligators, ostriches, kangaroos, and even dogs and cats are cruelly slaughtered for their skins every year. The tails and horns of many of these animals are cut off without painkillers, and some are even skinned and cut apart while still conscious. By contrast, vegan leather offers a killer look without any killing.
Planet Earth loves sustainable vegan leather, too. Turning skin into leather takes loads of energy and a toxic brew of chemicals—including mineral salts, coal-tar derivatives, formaldehyde, oils, dyes, and finishes, some of them cyanide-based. Tannery waste contains water-fouling salt, lime sludge, sulfides, acids, and other pollutants.
See more at peta.org