Animals are not only used for food, but also for clothing, carpets and cushions. The suffering behind these products is often forgotten.

Leather is more than just a waste product from the meat industry. In the meantime, leather production has become a lucrative branch of business in its own right.

Some very toxic chemicals are used to make leather from the skin of an animal, transforming the natural product into a material that must be treated as hazardous waste after use! The global leather industry slaughters over a billion animals every year and processes their hides into clothing, fashion items, furniture, interiors and accessories.1 The greater the demand for leather, the greater the butcher’s profit when selling the hide. This makes animal factories more financially attractive.

How natural is leather?
Only around one third of a slaughtered farm animal ends up on Swiss plates. The remaining two thirds – skin, bones, fat and offal such as liver, spleen, heart and lungs – are considered by-products and are disposed of or further processed. The most important economic by-product of the meat industry is the skin of the animals.2

The hides of cows from the dairy industry are also processed into leather as soon as the productivity of the animals decreases. The hides of their children, bred for the production of veal, are processed into expensive calfskin.

Where does leather come from?
The majority of the leather products sold come from cow and calf hides. However, leather is also made from the hides of horses, sheep, lambs, goats and pigs, which are killed for their meat. Other animal species are hunted and killed for their fur and skins alone. Zebras, bison, water buffalo, wild boar, kangaroos, elephants, eels, sharks, dolphins, seals, walruses, frogs, turtles, crocodiles, lizards and snakes also fall victim to this cruel business.

Kangaroos are slaughtered by the millions every year because their skin is considered a first-class material for football boots.3 And although the Australian government requires hunters to shoot the animals, orphaned, young and injured animals are to be decapitated or hit hard on the head to “destroy the brain”, according to the government. After football star David Beckham learned about these cruel methods, he switched to shoes made of synthetic materials in 2006.4

Animal welfare
Most leather goods are made from the skin of cattle (usually calves). Up to 80% of these come from “dairy cows”.5 Accordingly, in the case of leather products, it is accepted that the animals have been kept in accordance with foreign animal welfare regulations. Too little space, too little light, antibiotics, castrations and removal of horns without anesthesia, etc. Then there is the transportation to the slaughterhouse and the slaughter. Soft leather from young calves is particularly sought after. The younger the better: sometimes the leather comes from calves that are only one hour old, or from slaughtered pregnant dams.

Leather as a health risk
Once the animals have been slaughtered, their hides are tanned. Nowadays, 90 percent of this is done with chromium, which means that chromate is released into the wastewater. Chromate contains chromium VI compounds, which can lead to various forms of poisoning (0.5 g to 1 g are fatal) and genetic damage.6 In addition, there are other manufacturing processes in which, for example, aluminum, iron, zirconium, phenol, cresol, naphthalene as well as oils and coatings are used. This not “only” has an impact on the environment, but also on people: Higher susceptibility to leukemia in the vicinity of tanneries. Tannery workers account for more than half of those affected by testicular cancer.7

Today, there are just eight tanneries left in Switzerland. Of these, three produce industrially with around 20 employees, and five are more artisanal with one to two employees.8 The majority of leather sold in Switzerland therefore comes from abroad. Due to strict environmental protection regulations in Switzerland and Germany in particular, tanning has shifted to low-wage and developing countries.

The risks of the leather industry today are therefore borne by workers in developing countries such as India, China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Brazil. Due to the frequent lack of hazard warnings about carcinogenic chromium(IV) compounds, which also cause painful allergies, people in tanneries in these countries wade through chromium and waste water and sometimes obtain their drinking water from contaminated rivers and groundwater sources.

Although all organic or test seals stipulate that chromium(VI) must not be found in leather at all, this requirement cannot be enforced in practice. A study by the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) tested almost 600 different products for compliance with the chromium(VI) limit value – almost half were contaminated with chromium(VI)!9 The highest exceedances of the limit value were measured in leather shoes, where the carcinogenic substance was found in every third shoe. Similarly problematic chromium compounds were detected by Stiftung Warentest in baby shoes and work gloves.10 The magazine “Ökotest” has also regularly downgraded leather products for years due to their harmful chromium compounds.11 The TV report “Toxic shoes” by the NDR magazine 45 Min from 14.05.2012 found toxic chromium salts everywhere in Indian tanneries, which pollute rivers and the environment, while the population suffers from lifelong chromium allergies.12

Ecology
In addition to the health risks to all those involved in production, leather tanning with azo dyes, chromium salts and pentachlorophenols (PCP) naturally also has a negative impact on the environment. In addition to toxic substances, tannery wastewater also contains enormous quantities of other pollutants such as proteins, hair, salts, lime sludge, sulphides and acids. A chrome tannery wastes over 55,000 liters of water and produces up to 1,000 kilograms of solid waste (e.g. hair, meat and edge waste) and large amounts of toxic sludge per ton of hide processed.13

Vegetable tanning?
Tanning animal skins with plants takes considerably more time, and therefore more energy and water, which has a negative impact on the overall environmental balance. In addition, vegetable-tanned leather is usually much firmer and is therefore not suitable for every leather article. Gloves, for example, should be fine and have a good grip. Even vegetable-tanned leather can only achieve this with chemical additives. Although these substances do not have to be indicated on the label, such leather articles are given a so-called “eco-label”.

How can I tell the difference between leather and artificial leather?
Meanwhile, alternatives made of artificial leather already look deceptively real and it is not always easy to distinguish leather from artificial leather. The following tips will help you decide:

Leather also has its very own smell, which does not occur with artificial leather.

What can you do?
Animal-friendly alternatives include cotton, linen, rubber, Chinese grass, canvas and synthetic fabrics. Chlorenol (“Hydrolite” at Avia, “Durabuck” at Nike) is an interesting new material that is characterized by its breathability and is used in the production of sports and hiking shoes. It wraps around the foot with the same elasticity as leather, provides good support and can be machine washed. Alternative materials are usually cheaper and do not contribute to the mass slaughter for meat or the wild hunting of animals with beautiful skin. Ask retailers for leather-free items and encourage designers and manufacturers to produce shoes from alternative materials.

If you are buying a vehicle, find out in advance about car brands that offer leather-free models.

You can find leather alternatives almost anywhere you shop. Various labels sell leather-free handbags, purses and shoes.

Online at Veganangle or in the beautiful showroom in Zurich’s Seefeld district
you can buy leather-free and sustainably produced handbags, shoes and clothing.

Footnotes:
1 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Slaughtered/Production Animals 2011, FAOSTAT Database, (24 Apr. 2013).
2. http://www.lid.ch/de/medien/mediendienst/artikel/infoarticle/17065/
3 Hofmann, René (2008): Kangaroos on your feet, Süddeutsche.de,http://www.sueddeutsche.de/sport/fussballschuhe-kaengurus-an-den-fuessen-1.784197 (08.05.2013)
4. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/beckham-hangs-up-his-boots-the-ones-made-out-of-baby-kangaroos-343287.html
5 Thomsen, L., Tierliche Inhaltsstoffe und ihre Alternativen, 2nd revised edition, (Veganissimo 1), published by FACE IT! People for Animal Rights, Kiel 1996, p. 71.
6. chemistry in the closet. The eco-textile book. S. 254
7. http://www.test.de/Chrom-VI-in-Leder-Immer-noch-ein-Risiko-4560494-0/
8. http://www.miga.org/documents/TanningandLeatherFinishing.pdf

Further information:
Comprehensive list of sources of leather-free products in the USA and England from PETA. A list of vegan shoe manufacturers is also available on Facebook. Background information on the topic of leather can also be found at Peta http://leder.peta.de/

Source: https://www.veganangle.com, http://swissveg.ch