The Truth Behind "Vegan Plant-based Leather": Is It Really Eco-Friendly?

Fashion brands and media are all about "vegan & plant-based leather" these days, claiming it's a sustainable alternative to real leather. But hold on, is it really sustainable?

The Name Game:

Once upon a time, fake leather was called "pleather." (plastic leather). In the 2010s, it got a makeover and became "vegan leather." Nice name, right? Makes you think it's kind to animals. However, the big secret is that it's just PLASTIC.

Plastic Problems:

This so-called vegan leather is made from plastic—polyurethane (PU) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) to be precise. These plastics come from oil or gas, not exactly planet-friendly.

Plant-based/ Bio-based Leathers:

To fix the plastic problem, some brands mix plants with plastic. Makes it seem more appealing, doesn't it?  You may have noticed brands marketing shoes made out of Plant based Leathers such as grape, cactus, pineapple, apples, mushrooms, etc.

However, nearly every plant-based leather on the market uses plastic coatings (PU) necessary to give the material the properties required for footwear, like flexibility, strength, and resistance. Generally, the plant matter is processed into a substance that is applied to a textile and coated with PU, making these products a kind of vegan-textile-plastic sandwich.

While it sounds eco-friendly, mixing natural materials and plastic results in products that are neither recyclable nor compostable. Imagine a material that can't be recycled like plastic or composted like natural materials. It's a huge dilemma.

This is why plant-plastic hybrids are the worst of both worlds.

The Plastic Cover-Up:

Brands and suppliers are jumping on Vegan and Plant Leathers with an ethical movement, which instantly makes the consumer feel good being environmentally conscious. But if you are buying faux leather, you need to consider that you are buying PLASTIC.

The downside? It doesn't last long, ends up in landfills, and harms the environment. Imagine the harm it does to our oceans and wildlife. The plastic in these faux leather products breaks down into tiny particles that end up in our oceans, drinking water, and soils. So, when you opt for that trendy "vegan sneakers or bio/plant shoes," you might unknowingly be contributing to a bigger problem for the planet.

The Hunt for Real Sustainability:

For truly eco-friendly fashion, we should look for materials free from plastic or, alternatively, use collected plastic to make fabrics. Sure, we've included plastic in our collections for the Save the Ocean project, collaborating with Seaqual to turn ocean plastics into fabrics. Unfortunately, we know these fabrics were not as comfortable, flexible, and good as leather, but these necessary and beautiful actions were worth taking.

For now, I still think traditional leather is a better choice until we find materials with similar qualities and sustainability. Despite being vegan for over 15 years, opting for traditional leather shoes feels more sensible to me. I prefer locally sourced genuine leather, certified as a byproduct of the meat industry.

Faux and plant-based leathers don't match the durability of genuine leather. If companies have to produce more, and consumers need to buy more due to shorter material lifespans, is it truly sustainable? Leather is biodegradable, unlike plastic, which can take up to 500 years to break down.

Using leather from the food industry gives it a second life and prevents animal leathers from going to waste.

We also explore better vegan alternatives in our collections, such as natural fibers like hemp and organic cotton, along with cork.

In my view, using leather from the food industry gives it a second life and prevents these animal leathers from going to waste.

Other sustainable vegan alternatives like organic cotton, hemp, and cork, are more environmentally friendly. I prefer incorporating them as our vegan options in the collections.

I get it, figuring out what's real or truly good (and eco-friendly) can be tricky. Just take a minute to think about what matters to you and how your choices might affect the planet.

In the end, of course, the most sustainable thing anyone can do is simply BUY LESS.

Barbara De Assis

DOLFIE PARADISE