Footwear Smackdown: Leather vs. Synthetics September 16, 2009

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!

Elizabeth Olsen Rocks! March 17, 2009

I periodically stop by Huntington Central Library, take the elevator up to the periodicals floor, and spend an hour or two there reading all the fashion magazines to stay on top of current trends. This past Saturday, I was disgusted to see an article in Lucky Magazine falsely claim that “eco friendly” leather exists. It doesn’t. Anyone with a basic understanding of textile science would know that…but most people who consider themselves veg*n or eco-conscious don’t study textile production (these days, most people, veg or not, don’t), and some are duped into buying “vegetable dyed” or “vegetable tanned” leather, mistakenly believing it to be a greener choice than all synthetics.

I’ve been on the Girlie Girl Army mailing list for a while (and highly recommend it). I was glad to see the latest newsletter link back to a GGA blog entry from five days ago, guest-written by Elizabeth Olsen, who designs the Olsen Haus vegan shoe line.

For years, I have been trying to use my knowledge and background for the better, especially as it relates to animal-friendly shopping. I answer a dozen questions a day about vegan footwear, including plenty about its environmental effects. I even penned an article for (now-defunct) Herbivore Magazine including the subject, though as the online format proved unpopular with many readers, very few people actually got around to reading it. (I’d link to the article, but the website seems to have vanished. Perhaps when ex-editor Josh Hooten is back in town I’ll seek permission to post it here, as it’s still saved on my hard drive. He’s on a 600-mile bike ride to raise money for Farm Sanctuary and I hate to bother people when they’re on the road.)

In addition to my schooling and personal experience, I put in over 100 hours of my own research for the article. Yet, it’s appalling how many people don’t want to accept the facts (or don’t want to believe me for some reason…for the record, I did NOT profit from that article in any way; it was written strictly as a public service). Elizabeth has been vegan for much, much longer than I have, and has done more research than I have, so hopefully the eco/veggie community will listen to her.

In the comments, one ill-informed reader actually had the nerve to inquire (rather rudely, I thought) whether Elizabeth had actually researched labor issues and the chemicals/byproducts involved in synthetic vs. leather manufacturing. Obviously, she did. One cannot possibly hope to have a serious discussion about the environmental effects of leather or synthetics without researching any chemicals or byproducts involved, and no true vegan would knowingly support child labor. A socially conscious vegan designer would, of course, do her own research concerning the precise origins of the materials available to her (assuming she knew what she was doing, and it’s clear Ms. Olsen does). Of course, Elizabeth is smart enough not to take such a ridiculous inquiry lying down, and replies:

Because this is a blog, I don’t have the space to go into depth with your issues , but… there is skirting around the real issue of the tremendous harm leather causes, obviously to the animals, but also the environment,….Yes, I have done extensive research over the last 20 years, have you?

Thank you, Elizabeth Olsen (and GGA founder Chloé Jo Berman) for bringing the truth to light. Keep it up – stylish people who love animals, the planet, or both need you.

Veg*ns: Don’t Ask Fashion Girl February 16, 2009

I spent my Saturday afternoon at the FIDM gallery in downtown LA, enjoying the 17th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design exhibit. Costumes from “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” “The Other Boleyn Girl,” and several other well-dressed films are featured – it’s well worth the trip if you can make it before the exhibit closes on March 29. (Warning: some of the film costumes incorporate real fur. Sadly, not all costume designers have caught on that real fur is cruel, disgusting, and not at all necessary for the silver screen when there are so many realistic fakes out there.)

(Side note: the exhibit also featured a mock snack-bar display complete with an old snack-bar intermission film…including creepily suicidal hot dogs. The most disturbing clip of all featured a feminine-looking hot dog styling a mustard-and-relish “hairdo” in front of a vanity, then slipping on a bun like it was an expensive evening coat. Dolling oneself up to be eaten… Carol Adams would certainly have something to say about that! I’d submit that clip to Suicide Food, but it isn’t available for viewing online.)

FIDM, or Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, is a private college that prepares students for careers in fashion and various related fields. They’re also something of a community fashion resource, putting together and hosting fashion-related exhibits (including a television costume exhibit every summer), maintaining one of the world’s largest fashion libraries, serving as the permanent home of the Annette Green Perfume Museum (worth a visit when it’s open – call ahead before making the trip), and even providing its own online advice column, Ask Fashion Girl.

For the most part, Fashion Girl’s answers to questions are good. However, she gave an extremely poor and completely unresearched answer to one reader – a vegetarian named Robin wanting to know where to buy leather-free apparel without having to rely on (eew! ick! evil!) Payless.

Fashion Girl’s answer:

Payless and other inexpensive shoe and clothes stores are where you are going to find artificial, or vegetarian, leather. As they go up in price, stores pride themselves on carrying the real thing (in this case, genuine leather), so the lower-priced stores are where it makes sense to be sleuthing fake fashion finds.

The good news is that some of the more inexpensive stores are really trendy and are able to”knock-off,”or reproduce, the latest styles in imitation materials really quickly and cheaply.

Payless is just about the best place to find imitation leather shoes, since their styles change pretty often and they have a wide selection. I also recommend stores such as Walmart and K-Mart for faux leather and suede, and possibly JC Penney.

Look for a discount store near you that specializes in”disposable fashion”– trendy styles that are super-cheap and meant to be worn for a short time, then tossed aside. This is where you are more likely to find faux suede and leather.

In other words, FG’s advice boils down to “I can’t be bothered to do any real research, so just keep buying crap.”

When the article was posted, vegan-friendly companies like Matt & Nat, Vegetarian Shoes, Queen Bee, and Truth Belts had already been in business for years. Even Stella McCartney’s brand-new label was gaining notice at the time. A quick online search would have unearthed all of them, and probably more. There is no excuse for such a crappy response.

Robin specified that she was looking for stores other than Payless (it doesn’t take a genius to realize their wares are not at all a good investment). Yet, FG lazily tells her Payless is where to go. She also tells her to buy cheap knockoffs, which I’ve ranted and railed about in previous posts (long story short: cheap knockoffs are EVIL).  Worst of all, she lists other stores that specialize in low-quality materials, highly questionable workmanship, and horrid conditions for employees…and “disposable fashion”, which generates much more waste than investment fashion. Real smart of FG, given that most vegetarians also have a soft spot for the environment.

FG had a great opportunity to give herbivores a much-needed voice in the world of style. Instead, she silenced the sartorial voices of Robin and any other plant-eaters reading the column. She screwed up, and I can only hope her answer will be removed from the archives so no one ever sees it again…without me having to call in a favor from a FIDM professor I know. (Which I’m not above doing. I want the entire vegetarian community to know they don’t ever have to buy awful shoes again, even if I don’t personally profit from that knowledge.)

Here is how my response to Robin would have read:

Dear Robin,

Fortunately, it has gotten easier to purchase leather-free goods in recent years, and you no longer have to set foot in cheap chain stores to do it.

There are several all-vegetarian apparel companies, and some companies that do use leather or suede have begun to produce vegetarian styles.

For sneakers, Macbeth makes several vegan styles every season, and they are clearly labeled as such. Ethletics makes fair-trade, sustainable, organic sneakers similar to Converse (real Converse sneakers have bone glue and are made by Nike, don’t buy ‘em). Check with your nearest New Balance or Saucony store if you want a more athletic shoe.

I strongly recommend owning at least one pair of Vegetarian Shoes – they make sturdy boots, low heels, basic flats, sneakers, belts (mostly in basic brown or black), some dressier shoes, animal-friendly shoe polish, and even offer a basic nylon ripper wallet. (These are probably not going to be the fancy shoes you wear out clubbing – they’re workhorse shoes. They’re made of better-quality materials than cheap chain-store shoes – most styles breathe well and are waterproof. VS’ wares are of good quality, sweat-free, and can last for years with proper care.)

For cuter, fancier, feminine shoes on a budget, I recommend Madden Girl over other budget brands. Madden Girl is part of the Steve Madden empire, and is of somewhat better quality than most inexpensive shoes. MG has flats and heels in the $30-45 range, which is a bit more than some cheaper lines, but they are made with somewhat-better materials. (Truthfully, the materials don’t breathe as well as the quality brands, but you get what you pay for.)

For women’s shoes on a mid-range budget, NeuAura rules. I live in my NeuAuras. The designer worked for a high-end label before starting the company, so she understands the importance of good fit, good structure, and good materials. Bonus: NeuAura shoes are made in a fair-trade green factory.

If you like your belts to be a little more interesting, there’s always Truth Belts. Materials include a variety of fabrics as well as realistic faux leather in black or brown, patent or matte. Vegan Erotica also makes belts. Both companies make their goods by hand, not in sweatshops.

Queen Bee Creations and Matt & Nat both make bags and wallets – QB in colorful PVC-free vinyl and Matt & Nat in a variety of fake leathers and other fabrics (they are focusing more on sustainable and recycled materials these days). English Retreads and Used Rubber USA make accessories out of recycled rubber from tires (the rubber smell dissipates somewhat with time, though some people really dislike it). M&N has raised prices significantly to cover the cost of going greener, so if you truly cannot afford their goods,  eBay often has listings for older, discontinued pieces (it’s where I bought my beloved M&N Slick travel bag in the highly-coveted patent black), but don’t count on finding anything from the current season.

Beyond Skin hand-makes women’s shoes in two lines – one basic, one higher-end, all gorgeous. MINK makes handmade vegan women’s shoes at the higher end, and if the sky’s the limit (alas, for me it is not), Stella McCartney’s got you covered (she also does some belts). Veg Italian Style makes very classic men’s and women’s styles, if exchange rates and shipping from Italy aren’t a deterrent. There is one higher-end men’s vegetarian shoe company, Noharm, though as the market for top-of-the-line men’s veg shoes is still a small one, I haven’t yet seen a pair in action.

As for faux suede, do a search for Ultrasuede. Ultrasuede is a very realistic faux suede – many people never realize it’s not cow suede – and is often used to inexpensively manufacture garments that resemble suede. As it’s so close to springtime, the pickings might be slim, so search again in late August to mid-September and something is bound to turn up. (Or, you can DIY: find an Ultrasuede dealer, buy a few yards, and make the exact jacket you want. It’s what I did when I couldn’t find the mid-calf-length faux leopard coat I wanted.) There are other brands of faux suede out there (Louis Vuitton even uses one to line their trunks!), but Ultrasuede will be the easiest to find.

I hope you find this information useful, and good luck building the wardrobe you want!

- Vegan Shoe Lady

Swayed by Suede? Never! January 13, 2009

On Friday night, I got the damn suede question again. This time it was whether I’d ever carry any of Macbeth’s suede offerings. Gee, let me think about that…no.

I never cease to be amazed by how many people, veg*n or not, don’t know what certain materials actually are. I knew suede was animal skin by the time I was 11 years old, long before I decided to study fashion. (I realize there will always be a select few people who don’t recognize a vegan store when they see it, but come ON.)

With that in mind, here’s a brief lexicon of terms you may encounter when buying shoes:

Patent leather – Leather with a “patent” (shiny) finish. Some uninformed veg*ns think it’s fake leather. Trust me, it’s animal skin. (Faux leather with a patent finish is not called patent leather, so don’t let some unscrupulous merchant dupe you.)

Suede – The soft back side of leather (definitely not vegan!). Faux suede kicks real suede’s arse – not only is it cruelty-free, it requires very little upkeep and can take a beating. I had a suede coat I loved in high school, but it required more cleaning and brushing than all of the family pets combined (and still looked awful after two years).

Shearling – Sheep fur. The skin is still attached, ergo it is fur. The sheepskin industry coined the deceptive term “shearling” – it sounds a lot less cruel that way, doesn’t it? Don’t let anyone trick you into thinking this stuff is merely shorn off the sheep – especially if it’s obviously still rooted in the skin when you take the time to look closely. (Remember how many people mocked Pamela Anderson’s naïveté for not realizing her Ugg boots went above and beyond ‘not vegan’? Shearling is passé anyway, so save your money.)

“Veg-tan” or “vegetable tanned” leather – leather tanned using plant-derived materials. Not suitable for ethical vegetarians or vegans, only slightly less toxic than chrome-tanned leather, and requires an immense amount of energy to produce compared to chrome-tan leather or faux leather (the reason it fell out of favor long ago). Vegetable tanning agents aren’t *quite* as effective as chrome, so even if you’re eco-guilted into wasting money on something vegetable tanned, it’s not going to last as long as chrome-tan leather or a good fake. Every pair of vegetable-tanned leather shoes that I or my business partners have ever seen started to look like absolute crap after the wearer had worn them for 2-3 months. (Note: do NOT confuse this stuff with the “Vegetan” materials used by Vegetarian Shoes. All of VS’ materials are 100% animal-free.)

Blind Item: Shoe Shame December 31, 2008

What animal-friendly lifestyle magazine, which sells a fair amount of ad space to veg*n retailers (including yours truly), saw fit to put Payless at the top of their list of veg*n-friendly shoe companies in a sidebar to a larger article?

Words cannot describe how disappointed I am. These people know better. What’s worse, they have people who know a lot about veg*n apparel (myself included) at their disposal. The sidebar should have featured *ethical* companies.

Oh, and do I really have to remind anyone why cheap shoes are still a bad idea?

Leather vs. Faux Leather, Round 2 September 16, 2008

The average American consumer knows very little (or nothing) about leather analogues. Most people associate them with the poor-quality vinyl sold at certain chain stores (naming no names, of course, but you know who I’m talking about)  and assume that leather “must” be better for the environment, but they are not exactly correct on either count.

If you know me offline, you may remember my article in Herbivore magazinelast year. Another article, which appeared in The Guardian (UK) on August 27, 2008, may silence uneducated critics more effectively as it is a very well-respected news source rather than a lifestyle magazine (albeit a very good magazine that I for one am sad to see shut down). While certainly not exhaustive,the article does correct the most common assumptions.

P.S. Tune in to BONES tomorrow night; the episode will provide a glimpse into the ugly world of dog fighting. Do I smell a future Genesis Award?

P.P.S. Tomorrow is also my birthday, so wish me a good one