A breakdown of the most sustainable and non-toxic leather products out there
Stop, drop, and shop! Here's to the newest fashion trend, where the only thing hotter than rocking your style, is rocking it sustainably. So, let's talk about leather. Who here loves it? Can I get a hand raise? Maybe it's your everyday bag or your "makes-everything-look-better" moto jacket, or maybe you just want to make 2019 your year to rock leather! Don't worry, we've got the health scoop on it all, from real leather to vegan leather, and even ones made of food (no, we're not joking). Keeping reading – you won't be disappointed, we promise!
Yes, really, this is actually leather made of plastic, otherwise known as vegan leather and pretty much explains what this product is in a nutshell. What's it made of, you ask? The more modern and slightly less bad plastic that is often used to make vegan leather is polyurethane (PU). While it's slightly better than Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which used to be the standard, it still releases hazardous toxins during manufacturing and the oil-based polymers it's made of requires fossil fuels to produce (1). Fossil fuels, to put it bluntly, are a major driver of climate change and climate change happens to have some pretty negative health effects on humans (12). Climate change can make wildfires worse, keep you sneezing from allergies, and increase the number of bugs biting you! PU is pretty stinky if you ask us!
Before manufacturers figured out how to use PU to make leather, PVC was the go-to. You may remember something about PVC from our Simple Swap: shower curtain series. Well, it's still a problem here, too. PVC isn't used as much as it was in the 1960's and 70's, but it can still be found in the composition of some vegan leather. The issue is that PVC releases dioxins, which are potentially dangerous in confined spaces and especially dangerous if heated. It also uses plasticizers such as phthalates to make it flexible. Depending on the type of phthalate used, they can really mess with your health (1)! You're probably thinking that if PVC releases chemicals into the environment, it can't be great sustainability-wise, and you're right! PVC is pretty much the worst plastic for the environment (11).
In terms of safety, the manufacture of synthetic leather isn't great for the environment or humans because of the plastics used to make them. The synthetics used in vegan leathers don't fully biodegrade, although they can be broken down to a degree. But, as they break down, they can also release toxic particles and phthalates, which can affect the health of animals and the environment. That's pretty much the exact opposite of what you're intending to do if you're buying pleather to be environmentally friendly (1)!
Here's the sparknotes version of what leather is. Leather is essentially tanned animal skins; there are many forms of leather, and the type you get depends on how the animal skin has been treated (5). The treatment process, called tanning, uses all sorts of bad chemicals to produce leathers of different colors, looks and feels (5).
Leather is not 100 percent safe for consumers since there can be residual chemicals left on the product when it gets to you, but it is ESPECIALLY not safe for workers. The health effects from exposure to these chemicals range from irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat in low doses (10) and all the way to cancer in larger doses or over longer periods of time (8). You can come in contact with these chemicals just from being around the products a lot and breathing it in (in the case of workers), or even touching the products and accidentally ingesting the chemicals that have rubbed off on your hands from touching the items. One thing to remember is that since most of these chemicals are used to make the raw material leather, the chemicals are probably not in high quantities by the time the leather gets to you, but be aware that they are likely still in small quantities on the leather, and if you are sensitive, you might experience some of the symptoms we've listed!
If you are looking for other materials that are cool and can be made to imitate leather more safely check out items made of:
There is definitely a trade-off when choosing pleather or leather products. By being more informed, you can choose a material that you're comfortable with in terms of safety (for you and for the workers that have to make these products!) and sustainability.
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