This article originally appeared in the August 2007 online edition of now-defunct Herbivore Magazine. Thanks to Josh and Michelle for kindly granting their permission to re-publish it here.
If in-depth research concerning environmental effects of leather vs. synthetic materials interests you, consider contacting Olsen Haus. My research has been primarily performance-oriented, whereas Elizabeth Olsen’s has focused more on environmental impact.
Footwear Smackdown: Leather vs. Synthetics
I went vegetarian when I was in college. I majored in fashion design, so I was learning about textiles (including animal skins and their alternatives) while I was in search of animal-free shoes that a) looked good and b) wouldn’t fall apart.
If you’re reading this, you’ve probably conducted the same search at least once. Like me, you’ve probably heard every story in the book about vegan footwear. But, how to separate fact from fiction?
I have put in well over 100 hours of my own research on the subject – poring over boring textiles textbooks, ruthlessly attacking samples of faux leather and (pregan) real leather with everything from boiling water to razor blades, and subjecting one pair of vegan Doc Martens to five solid years of rough wear. Like most people who grew up wearing animal skins, I wasn’t sure it was even possible for the perfect faux leather (comfortable, durable, nice-looking, more Earth-friendly than animal skin) to exist. I must admit my findings, which I will now present without further ado, surprised me at first.
Round 1: Durability
Leather and suede can scratch and scuff with relative ease. They are also prone to splitting, cracking, and tearing (on a personal note, the leather interior in my old car was torn in about 10 places and badly cracked almost everywhere by the time it was traded in, despite preventive care). Leather and suede can also be damaged by mildew.
Good-quality faux leather does not share these problems (I have tested every variety I can find), and lasts as long as leather (sometimes longer). Caveat: Watch out for the cheap stuff; like cheap pantyhose, most of it is meant to fall apart so you’ll buy more in the long run.
Synthetics 1, Leather 0.
Round 2: “Breathability” and Waterproofing
Many leather fanatics claim synthetics do not breathe or aren’t waterproof. Not only are leather and suede not inherently water-resistant, they lose some to all of their “breathability” when waterproofed or given a patent finish (by the way, “patent leather” does not refer to shiny faux leather but to animal skin with a shiny patent finish).
Some of the better faux leathers (i.e. the ‘Vegetan Microfiber’ used by Vegetarian Shoes) are both waterproof and breathable (bonus: unlike the cheap vinyls of yesteryear, they are flexible enough to let the wearer move comfortably).
Synthetics 1, Leather 0.
Round 3: Cleaning and Care
Leather and suede generally require expensive cleaning performed by an expert dry cleaner. I have yet to find a faux leather that couldn’t be cleaned with a damp rag (if absolutely filthy, break out the Simple Green or Dr. Bronner’s), and some (i.e. Lorica) can even be machine-washed. (Side note: my uncle accidentally ran his PVC wallet through a hot washing machine cycle. Unlike its leather predecessor, it’s still in near-mint condition.)
Keeping leather items soft and supple generally requires periodic treatments with oils, creams, and polishes (skin needs moisture). Not only are many of these products totally not vegan (mink oil, eeew!), this is not necessarily a necessary step with faux skins (though Vegetarian Shoes does make nice vegan shoe polish if you like your boots to shine).
Synthetics 1, Leather 0.
Rounds 4-7: Environmental Effects and Consumption of Resources
We all know that raising a large farmed animal to slaughtering size uses a surprising amount of resources – animal feed, thousands of gallons of water, medications/hormones/other drugs, and all the petroleum used in getting the drugs and feed to the farm, getting the animals to the slaughterhouse, and then moving the skins to the tannery (see next point re: chemicals used in the leather trade). If more of the human population switched to synthetic materials rather than further subsidizing the meat and dairy industries (do I really need to remind anyone that a cow’s hide accounts for half of its post-mortem value?), fewer raw materials would be used in the long run.
Synthetics 1, Leather 0.
Leather requires more energy, much more space, and a great deal more labor than synthetic fabrics. For example, the staking process. Staking machines stretch and flex tanned leather – put simply, “chewing” the skin – to make it soft enough to wear. This is unnecessary with synthetics.
Even thick fake leather can be machine-sewn in most cases; many leather garments must be partially or entirely sewn by hand (I seem to recall reading about a mitered leather coat costing $9,000 because it required 120 hours of hand stitching; at the risk of stating the obvious it is more efficient to run a sewing machine and light a workroom for a few hours than to just light the workroom for 15 8-hour days).
Synthetics 1, Leather 0.
Leather must be treated with chemicals to keep it from rotting and, if desired, to give it certain finishes or colors. The skin goes through multiple cleanings, including removing the hair, which requires the use of alkaline chemicals or enzymes. Chrome tanning has been the norm for decades because it can be accomplished in mere hours (vegetable tanning takes several weeks; many tanneries won’t do it). The preserving chemicals, often called “mordants,” are better known for their association with the funeral industry. In fact, that “new leather” smell isn’t a leather smell at all. The distinctive odor is produced by the chemical reaction of the animal’s skin with formaldehyde and chromium salts (which is why the odor tends to fade over time). Chlorine use in materials like PVC (polyvinyl chloride) can be reduced by adding more hydrogen to the compounds. Synthetic fiber manufacturing accounts for only 1% of petroleum used (and only half of that is the actual raw material); 95% of the world’s petroleum is used for fuel (as previously noted, the leather industry directly and indirectly uses large quantities of petrochemicals). It’s likely that more chemicals are used to make one pair of leather shoes than would be used in one pair of synthetic shoes.
Synthetics 1, Leather 0.
The aforementioned vegetable-tanned leather, out of favor for so long, has had a slight resurgence in popularity lately because of the belief that it is less harmful to the environment. However, those in attendance at the first-ever World Shoes Accessories ecoEthics Conference, held this February in Las Vegas, heard Bill Bartholomew, a representative for The Leather Group, admit that “eco-friendly” vegetable tanning is actually just as polluting as chrome tint! (Case in point: long before chrome tint existed, tanners on Florence, Italy’s Ponte Vecchio are said to have turned the Arno River into a stinky mess.)
Synthetics 1, “Vegetable Tanned” Leather 0.
Round 8: Biodegradability
Leather does not biodegrade (see previous point re: chemical use). Very old leather can crack, chip, and otherwise appear to start decomposing, which is not quite the same as rotting.
Some faux leathers are at least partly biodegradable. The faux leather that Blackspot (Adbusters Media Foundation’s indie shoe label) uses for its V1 sneaker and V2 boot is 70% biodegradable. Some faux leathers are cotton with a vinyl or polyurethane coating. Although not ideal, at least the cotton can still decompose.
There reportedly is a 100% biodegradable vegan leather in existence (which I understand Adbusters considered using), but vegan shoe manufacturers have not been quick to embrace this material because the only factory that currently makes it is located in Vietnam (factories in Southeast Asia are still notoriously hard to monitor for fair labor practices).
Synthetics 1, Leather 0.
Round 9: Effects upon Human Health
There has been some debate about PVC and polyurethane manufacturing causing an increased risk of cancer. Even if this is so, tannery employees and men living near tanneries still have a higher risk of testicular cancer than men working or living elsewhere.
Both leather and synthetics can cause allergic reactions in very sensitive people. Interestingly, some of said sufferers are allergic to both materials.
While synthetics are not necessarily better in this area, they are certainly no worse.
Synthetics 0, Leather 0.
Round 10: What the Hell Is This Stuff, Anyway?
As a vegan retailer, I hear this question almost every day. No, it’s not necessarily plastic (if you have been referring to faux leather with the “p” word, PLEASE stop). Faux leather is commonly made of a carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen compound. (The next time someone derisively refers to your shoes as “plastic”, you can now scoff, sneer, and truthfully inform them that they’re carbon-based…kind of like dumb humans. Ha!)
By contrast, leather is made from pretty much any living being that ever had skin. I have personally seen shoes and purses made from alligators, kangaroos, snakes, pigs, emus, horses, fish skin, fetal lamb…the list goes on. While most leather is cow or pig skin, some leather suppliers in China have stooped to skinning stray dogs to meet quotas. As last winter’s Sean John dog fur fiasco proved, labels can lie. Leather wearers like to think they know the species of the animal who died for their shoes, but unless they have had a DNA test performed on the skin, this is not necessarily the case.
Synthetics 0.5, Leather 0.
Bonus Round: Appearance
Even with careful wear and lots of conditioning, most old leather does eventually start to show its age (experience taught me long ago that even buttery designer leather shoes can only take so much). Dark leather (aka the ubiquitous black and brown) shows scuffing, scratching, and aging to a greater extent than light-colored leather.
While cheap fake leather can start to look worn out pretty fast (though on occasion the cheap stuff just might shock you by lasting a while), decent fakes look pretty much the same for years (I have found this to be especially true with PVC). Good faux leather so successfully mimicks animal skin that most people cannot distinguish it from “the real thing” without reading the label (in Italy’s street markets, Lorica and other fakes are routinely passed off as genuine leather), and now, in 2007, we can even – gasp! – CHOOSE between textures and finishes. Antiqued, patent, pebble, fake snake, basic matte, faux pony, mock croc – it’s all out there (anyone doubting this is welcome to tour my closet – by appointment, of course).
Synthetics 1, Leather 0.
Final Score:
Synthetics 9.5, Leather 0.
I did not learn any of this from the animal rights movement. I learned it in fashion school – a strange world where silk scarf painting was a required assignment and my Tailoring instructor gave me the weirdest look for using linen instead of wool to make a jacket.
Most of my information on the production and impact of faux leather came from class lectures and from one particular textbook, Fabric Reference. The book’s author, Mary Humphries, included a somewhat dismissive remark about animal rights activists in the introduction to the extensive fur chapter (feel your skin crawl here), so I am quite convinced she was in no way biased in favor of living beings when she included the good points of synthetics!
