What is vegan leather / The hidden cost of vegan leather (social, and environmental)?

The simplest and easiest way to explain “Vegan Leather” would be that it doesn’t involve the animal product of any kind. Vegan is just the posh way of saying my leather good is fake or faux. But to say that its eco-friendly would be going too far. Here is the actual truth about vegan leather and all you need to know about it.

Does it breakdown easily?

Once you are done with your vegan leather and it has reached the end of its practical life, it takes ages to break down as it is made of fossil fuels. Since leather is in extreme demand, and there isn’t much genuine leather, people are relying more and more on synthetic leather, which is why vegan leather is the talk of the town.

How it’s Made (Environmental Cost of Vegan Leather)

Fake or Vegan leather is fashioned with various chemicals. The process is totally different than genuine leather. It is manufactured by combining plastic coating to a fabric backing.  The variety of plastic coating that is used in the making of faux leather is what makes it “not eco-friendly.” Unlike popular belief, that animal saving is equal to environment saving. Animal hide usage is actually beneficial to the environment, imagine what will happen if we stop producing animal hide leather, there will be huge landfills of animal hides rotting away. The gases and toxins from that would kill our environment for sure.

Some manufacturers use PVC as well to produce Vegan Leather, but that is extremely dangerous as well. Especially in closed spaces, they release dioxins. You can’t burn it as well; it is potentially hazardous to burn fake leather due to the phosphates that are added to make it more flexible and supple. Hence it can safely be said that it is the most environmentally damaging alternative to leather. You may think that you are saving a lot of animals, but what you are actually doing, is killing the environment, hence putting all human lives at stake.

You may hear from a lot of manufacturers that the Polyurethane used in their vegan leather goods is eco-friendly; they are lying through their teeth. There is no such thing.

Before supporting vegan leather remember that genuine leather has been used by humans for millennia. Ethically sourced leather it’s less damaging to our environment than faux /vegan leather. Don’t let marketing slogans trick you into thinking you are saving animals when the environment itself is damaged by the fake alternative.