Leather is the tanned hide of an animal – mostly, a cow. Most hides used in the modern-day tanning process are sourced from slaughter facilities where cattle are processed for meat. Specialty leathers may be sourced from other animals; however, most are still a "by-product" of animals already processed for food.

In addition to the process presenting an apparent ethical dilemma for those seeking to abstain from animal products, including some vegetarians and vegans, the process of tanning also has a significant environmental impact. It has to be tanned or processed until it becomes durable. Many tanners use chromium in regions where leather production is popular, but environmental-protection standards are not — like China, India, and Bangladesh. The chromium and other tanning chemicals often get dumped as a liquid, sludge, or solid waste. Nontoxic vegetable tanning is a safe alternative as it uses naturally derived plant chemicals to tan the hide. However, this is rarely practiced due to long production time and high costs.

Environmentalists also point towards the greenhouse gas emissions associated with raising livestock, of which leather is a by-product – agriculture, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, is responsible for up to 18% of the total release greenhouse gases worldwide.

While many argue that as long as there is a meat industry not having a leather industry is wasteful – a drop in demand for leather has already sent skins to the landfill1. On the other hand, synthetic leather can be labelled as vegan leather from purely animal-ethic view point.

Yet the alternative faux leathers come at a significant environmental cost. Both polyurethane and polyvinyl chloride must undergo chemical processes to make them flexible enough to mimic leather. The former involves painting liquified polyurethane onto a fabric backing, which requires a toxic solvent; the latter requires plasticizers such as phthalates, which are equally toxic. Both derived from fossil fuels which, when burnt, release materials such as ash, nitrogen and carbon into the atmosphere. And both take hundreds of years to biodegrade in landfill – a fate they are arguably more likely to meet, because the cheap, faux leather is far less likely to be handed down through generations as an heirloom.

With few plant-based options that offer a leather-like look and feel, the majority of vegan leathers are synthetically produced from plastics that display the same environmental hazards as tanning. Synthetic fibres are the largest source of microplastic pollution in the ocean2.

Leather that is commercially available today merely cuts down toxin at one end, just to emerge several steps down the supply chain, not making a real difference at a macro level. While leather seems unethical, it lasts longer and is biodegradable while synthetic leather may not use animal by-products, it is still hazardous to the environment. The debate for ethical leather should consider all aspects of production – form where its sourced, how it’s made and where it will end up - to be called truly ethical.

Kingdom Saddlery Limited finds its source of leather in plant based cellulosic fibres (wood pulp) which makes the end product natural, eco-friendly, sustainable and ethical. Cellulose is a widely known organic compound and the most abundantly available biopolymer.

The principal commercial use for cellulose is paper manufacturing along with being widely used in the fashion industry. Microcrystalline cellulose and powdered cellulose are used as drug fillers, food thickeners emulsifiers, and stabilizers. Overall, cellulose has been tried and tested in the market to have significant benefits in terms of sustainability and impact on the environment. Thus, plant-based fibres are the most ethical and sustainable raw material for the production of leather.

Texon Möckmühl GmbH, based in Germany, has leveraged the properties of this wood pulp to invent a leather like base material, Texon Vogue, which is a stylish, versatile and adaptable material providing a wide range of solutions for both fashion and consumer applications. From jeans labels, luggage tags and stationery items to caps, hats and leather goods, designers and manufacturers revel in Texon Vogue’s ability to be hard wearing, flexible and practical.

On durability and texture of the material , the tanning process, leaves the technical properties unaltered, giving the material a particular ‘wrinkled’ leather like look. It can be printed on and is resistant to water. It can be further transformed and coated into different fashion ranges having leather, metallic finish and animal skin embossing finishes in different pantone colour grain finishes.

It is accredited by Oeko-Tex, which tests for harmful substances, and is available as a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) approved product which ensure that the material is responsibly sourced and produced. It is a vegan-friendly material and a viable alternative to many leather products. In addition, the material also complies with the European REACH regulation making it health and environment safe.

Furthermore, the material’s technical innovation is focused not only on developing sustainable products but also on processes that will reduce the overall impact on the environment by reducing CO2 emissions, energy consumption and the use of fresh water in the manufacturing operations making the raw material truly ethical and sustainable.

However, thus far, the material has been deployed only within the clothing and fashion industry. Kingdom Saddlery Limited has leveraged the vast success of this plant based vegan leather in the production of its saddlery products. An industry, which thus far has been struggling to meet ethical and sustainability standards has the potential to be disrupted by Kingdom Saddlery Limited’s value proposition.