{"id":2896,"date":"2026-06-07T09:22:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T09:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rizeldelano.com\/chronicles\/?p=2896"},"modified":"2026-06-07T09:22:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T09:22:11","slug":"to-leather-or-not-to-leather","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rizeldelano.com\/chronicles\/to-leather-or-not-to-leather\/","title":{"rendered":"To leather, or not to leather"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">To leather, or not to leather<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Throughout the ages, leather remained a preferred noble material, and substitutes such as plastic and vinyl regarded as inferior \u2013 regardless of how the products were designed, produced or whose name was on the label.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From a sustainability point of view, today, the use of leather became an issue and new brands introduced vegan leather made from mushrooms, and pineapple trying to find a place in luxury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Can it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If so, how?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The leather industry generates an incredible amount of leather and leather goods that are used by millions of people around the world every day. For function and fashion, leather is, and always has been, one of the most popular materials available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The leather industry is a $100 billion manufacturing sector that produces leather hides and goods all around the world. The most popular hides are from cows, sheep, goats, and pigs. The most popular products are shoes, clothing, and upholstery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So many people, and so many countries, are involved in the processing and production of leather goods. It\u2019s an amazing world trade that yields products most people use on a daily basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">People love it because leather is highly durable, which can last for decades with proper care. It does not wear or fade quickly. And it\u2019s a versatile material that is perfect for making bags, wallets, belts, and footwear.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leather softens and becomes more flexible as it ages, also easy to clean and maintain because it is water-resistant. The older it gets, the stronger it becomes. It is like a vintage wine that can last through ages.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That is why some leather goods are handed down from one generation to the other. Some even describe it as the perfect heirloom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The leather issue, as with many other raw materials used in luxury goods, are complex and never easily resolved, as so many people\u2019s involvement along the supply chain are affected by any change in the industry. Also when one change happens in one aspect it could affect another aspect tremendously.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read and consider this article that appeared in Bloomberg in 2019:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/features\/2019-08-09\/america-s-obsession-with-beef-is-killing-the-leather-industry\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>America\u2019s obsession with beef is killing the leather industry:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Shoppers who once coveted leather jackets and shoes are instead scooping up cheaper, synthetic alternatives, reflecting a growing ambivalence toward this former staple of American closets.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The glut of cowhides has caused prices to plummet, rendering many worthless. And just as the American love for meat has caught on around the globe, so too has the abandonment of leather, from clothing to car seats. Hides are even starting to go to landfills while the smaller leather processors are going out of business.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Just five years ago, prices soared after a drought shrank the U.S. herd to a six-decade low. Leather outpriced itself, forcing shoe and clothing designers to cut the material from their products. Combine that with the rise of athleisure and the growing popularity of\u201c vegan\u201d clothing, and one can see why demand hasn\u2019t come back.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Cattle hides, an obligatory byproduct of beef and dairy consumption, will be around as long as Americans like cheeseburgers, steaks and ice cream.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>With piles of 100-pound cowhides accumulating all over the country, unused and unsold, leather makers are warning of a looming commercial disaster. Hides have often accounted for 50% of the value of the animal\u2019s byproducts, and byproducts can be 10% of a steer\u2019s value or more. Hides from cows, which are lower quality than those of steers, have fallen to only about 5% of the value of all byproducts\u2014worth less than tongues and cheek meat. It\u2019s not even 1% of the value of a live cow.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cThere are hides with no value,\u201d said Joe Brannan, manager of export sales at Twin City Hide, a processor based in South St. Paul, Minnesota. \u201cWe\u2019re throwing a natural product in the garbage.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>There\u2019s still plenty of demand for high-quality leather\u2014the type used in pricey handbags or high-end sofas\u2014but that\u2019s just one part of the industry. Most animals don\u2019t have perfect hides, and many are branded. Older animals that have weathered the elements on pastures for years have skin marred by imperfections.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Twin City Hide has had to stop taking lower-quality hides from smaller beef companies, since the cost of processing them is more than it can recoup. In the first five months of this year, the company saw a 27% drop in production, with 20% of its current inventory sitting in warehouses\u2014worthless.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cThere\u2019s no one bidding, no one trying to buy them,\u201d said Brannan, who has worked in the hide business since 1976.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>According to Hidenet, a leather markets research firm, a hide from a branded cow went for as little as $4 the week of July 15, down from as much as $81 just five years ago. Vera Dordick, chief executive officer and publisher of Hidenet, added that it\u2019s not just the U.S. industry that\u2019s suffering.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cIt\u2019s a worldwide crisis,\u201d Dordick said. \u201cSome people used to say, \u2018We haven\u2019t buried any hides yet.\u2019 Now they can\u2019t say that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Before the bottom fell out, imperfect hides could be turned into small leather goods, such as cheap handbags. A finishing treatment, like a print, a coat of polyurethane, or buffing the hide into suede, could smooth over rough spots, said Stephen Sothmann, president of the Washington-based U.S. Hide, Skin and Leather Association, an industry lobbying group.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>But thanks in part to synthetic fabrics, that\u2019s no longer the case. So-called fast-fashion and athleisure\u2014clothing which contains no leather at all\u2014now dominate American retail. And for those who still favor the look of leather, imitations have gotten more sophisticated and can breathe like the real thing, said John Hochstein, vice president of hide and leather sales for National Beef Packing Co., one of the four major U.S. meatpackers.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Many synthetic leathers are made of petrochemicals, which raises an environmental dilemma for some consumers. So now, shoppers are flocking to eco-friendly faux-leathers made from fruit peels and recycled fabrics.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>As long as it doesn\u2019t contain leather or other animal products, it can be described as vegan. Such clothing, accessories and footwear saw a 54% increase at U.S. retail stores in the first half of 2019, according to Helen Palmer, director of materials at trend forecaster WGSN. Shoes saw the biggest gains, while the decline of leather footwear\u2014which traditionally used about half of the world\u2019s cattle hides\u2014has been especially pronounced.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cClothing brands are trying to get in line with a more ecologically conscious, younger buyer,\u201d Palmer said. And there\u2019s some star power behind this latest trend: Meghan Markle has been spotted wearing Veja sneakers, which are made from recycled plastic and corn.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Quicktake: How Shoes, Wallets and Even Teslas Are Going Vegan<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Vegan clothing aside, the choice between buying fossil fuel-based yoga pants or the skin of mammals raises another question: Which is worse for the environment?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Huantian Cao, a professor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware, said both have drawbacks. Petrochemical-based synthetics have the same sustainability problems as plastic, and they may even be worse. Every time you wash those stretchy pants, plastic microbeads and microfibers flow down the drain, into rivers and oceans.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>While leather is a natural material, it\u2019s derived from cattle farming. That industry generates methane emissions from cows and waste-filled runoff. Most U.S. hides, meanwhile, are exported to countries with less strict environmental regulations, where they\u2019re tanned with harsh chemicals including chromium sulphate.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Even worse, this process uses a lot of water, said Cao, who also runs a sustainable apparel initiative. There\u2019s ongoing research to try to find more environmentally friendly tanning methods, like using plant extracts and enzymes. But currently, he said, the chemical creates a better product.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Humans have been tanning hides to make leather since prehistoric times, using them for clothing and shelter. Byproducts of the cattle carcass such as bones, blood and fat end up in soap, fertilizer, gelatin, medicines and other products. But leather has always been the most prized byproduct.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>National Beef\u2019s Hochstein called environmental concerns about leather production \u201ca ridiculous mindset.\u201d The idea that turning hides into leather is bad for the environment \u201cis so far from the truth, you have to laugh at it\u2014but then you have to cry,\u201d he said. \u201cIt shows how far people are removed from the food supply chain, that they don\u2019t understand the value of raw materials.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cA leather shoe isn\u2019t going to end up in a million microbits in the ocean killing fish,\u201d said Sothmann, the industry lobbyist. \u201cIt\u2019s a natural material, and because we are dairy and meat consumers, we have an ethical need to produce these products as well.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>The industry is going to have to promote itself if it wants demand to come back, he said. While most processors ship their hides overseas, the trade war started by U.S. President Donald Trump has hurt that export market as well. U.S. leather makers recently received money from the administration to help offset the negative effect of tariffs.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Buffeted by this maelstrom of changing tastes and environmental awareness, an industry older than the nation is increasingly at risk.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Lowell Carson, owner of the Double L Ranch in Altamont, New York, who\u2019s been working in the meatpacking industry for more than 30 years, said the leather business is in the worst shape he\u2019s ever seen. He used to get $70 for his hides, he said. Now he\u2019s giving some away for free and soon may have to send them to landfills, where he already ships his lambskins.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>On the other side of the country, in Boise, Idaho, Southwest Hide Co. said it hasn\u2019t made a profit in two years. As a result, the leather processor has been forced to cut production and hide purchases. The company handles millions of hides a year, sourced from small to medium-size beef processors. Margins were a few dollars apiece, so with the cutbacks, tens of millions of dollars are being lost.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cWe have to tell our suppliers, \u2018Listen, we can\u2019t take this anymore,\u2019\u2009\u201d said Jay Jensen, the company\u2019s director of international sales. \u201cThat leaves them in a situation where they have to figure out what to do with them.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To leather, or not to leather Throughout the ages, leather remained a preferred noble material, and substitutes such as plastic and vinyl regarded as inferior&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_customify_content_layout":"","_customify_sidebar":"","_customify_page_header_display":"","_customify_disable_header":"","_customify_disable_header_top":"","_customify_disable_header_main":"","_customify_disable_header_bottom":"","_customify_disable_page_title":"","_customify_disable_content_vertical_padding":"","_customify_disable_footer_top":"","_customify_disable_footer_main":"","_customify_disable_footer_bottom":"","_customify_breadcrumb_display":"","_customify_header_transparent_display":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conserve-preserve-protect"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rizeldelano.com\/chronicles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rizeldelano.com\/chronicles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rizeldelano.com\/chronicles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rizeldelano.com\/chronicles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rizeldelano.com\/chronicles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2896"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rizeldelano.com\/chronicles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2896\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2897,"href":"https:\/\/rizeldelano.com\/chronicles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2896\/revisions\/2897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rizeldelano.com\/chronicles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rizeldelano.com\/chronicles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rizeldelano.com\/chronicles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}