Corporate social responsibility is not just about people, planet, and profit. Animal welfare is an important part of it too.

The meat industry is a big offender of animal rights. Research has shown that the industry has a huge environmental impact too. But it's not just the meat industry - fashion brands are closely connected to this issue as many (shoe) brands use leather as an important material for their products.

But is leather still a sustainable option?

There is no clear-cut answer to this. In this blog post, we explain the difference between leather and vegan leather and discuss their ethical & environmental implications.

Leather is often a by-product of the meat industry. While it is great that using leather for clothes reduces waste, we can't close our eyes to the immense impact of the meat industry. The meat industry is far from ethical and sustainable. Cattle grazing is linked to deforestation, and the industry is a huge source of greenhouse gases. It is estimated that around 14.5 to 18 percent of the world’s global carbon emissions come from animal agriculture. When we think critically, we can conclude that there would be even more carbon emissions if all the leftover hides would end up in landfill. However, not all leather used is a waste product. The selling of skins can be very profitable for farmers, often more so than meat, especially for exotic varieties, which actually encourages farmers to raise livestock for the main purpose of selling the leather.

To make leather, animal hides need to be tanned (a chemical treatment of multiple steps) to prevent rotting. The most common method to do so is chrome tanning. Chrome tanning requires the hide to be placed in a bath of water, chromium salts, and tanning liquor to ensure the skin doesn't decompose and retain its color. Chromium is a highly toxic chemical that can have negative impacts on both human health and the environment. The chromium tanning process puts the health of traditional leather workers at risk, and poor regulations lead to toxic waste disposal in the environment.

A good alternative to chrome tanned leather is vegetable tanning. This ancient tanning method does not involve any heavy metals but uses tannins from plants and trees to purify the hide.

Check out our vegetable-tanned sandal collection.

Vegan leather is a material that imitates leather but is made from other non-animal sources. It's also called faux leather, pleather, or synthetic leather.

The main concern with vegan leather alternatives is the way that they are manufactured. Vegan leathers are often made of plastic-based synthetic materials. Synthetic leather is made by combining different chemicals and fossil fuels in an industrial process. The most common materials are PU (polyurethane) or PVC (polyvinyl chloride). The manufacture and disposal of these synthetics can cause health issues, and can even cause cancer. PVC releases dioxins, which are potentially dangerous, and use plasticizers that are very environmentally damaging.

PU is less damaging than PVC. Companies are trying to develop improved PU to reduce the hazardous toxins released during the manufacturing process and the fossil fuels used to make it. Still, it does come with certain environmental risks.

An important drawback of vegan leather is that the synthetics used to produce them will never fully biodegrade. They can also release toxic particles and phthalates when disposed of, which can affect the health of animals and the environment. Synthetic fibers also shed tiny plastic particles when worn and disposed of. This makes them the biggest source of microplastic pollution in the ocean.

Since the demand for vegan and plastic-free leather is on the rise, brands and companies are experimenting with leather alternatives more and more. Innovative materials like cactus leather, apple leather, and Piñatex (made from pineapple leaf fibers) are plant-based and renewable. However, they are often still mixed with PU or have a PU-derived coating for durability.

Both real and vegan leather has a significant environmental impact. It's hard to say which one is the best option. Real leather is more comfortable, long-lasting, and can be biodegradable. Leather shoes are often more durable, and of course, it's more sustainable to invest in 1 leather pair of shoes instead of 10 vegan leather shoes in terms of resource use. However, when you buy vegan items, you can be sure that you are not supporting the meat industry and that there were no animals harmed in the process. And although the product is not biodegradable, sometimes the production process of vegan leather requires fewer chemicals.

In the end, it's important to choose what you feel comfortable with and what aligns with your values when considering what you buy.

Whether you go for vegan or real leather, we do recommend going for the best option in the category. Vegetable-tanned leather is more sustainable than chrome-tanned leather and is biodegradable. Also, keep an eye out for brands that are certified by the Leather Working Group to make sure the production was done with regard to the environment.

Want to be sure your leather purchase does not contribute to the meat industry? Look at second-hand or vintage options. If you prefer vegan leather, try to buy plant-based options instead of plastic-based synthetic leathers to significantly reduce your environmental impact. And as always: choose well, and make it last.

The most sustainable choice is the item that you will love for years, that you take care of, repair, and use until it's no longer possible.

At CANO, we strive to produce fairly made, high-quality products that, when cared for properly, can last a long time. Although the quality of vegan materials has increased over the past years, we have yet to find a material that can meet our standards.

Good quality leather shoes can withstand wear and tear, whereas vegan materials are often thinner and can therefore easily wear out. We also want to work with biodegradable materials so when our shoes are eventually discarded, they will not stay on this planet forever. That is why we work with vegetable tanned leather, certified by the Leather Working Group.

At the same time, many of CANO's employees are vegetarian or vegan and are concerned with animal welfare. That's why we are working very hard to develop a long-lasting shoe that is made of a predominantly plant-based vegan material. At the moment, we are experimenting with cactus leather and are making the first shoe samples. This is a long and complex process, but we are hopeful that we can expand our collection with vegan shoes soon. In the meantime, we will keep on the lookout for sustainable vegan materials and stay in close contact with our leather suppliers to make sure they are produced sustainably.

If you have any suggestions about materials that we should look into or if you have questions about this article, please do not hesitate to reach out or leave us a comment. We are happy to learn!

Want to read more in-depth material about this subject from different viewpoints? Check out the articles linked below.