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February 07, 2022Vegan leather, changing definitions of Sustainability
Sustainability across supply and value chains is definitely in demand. Global studies have recently shown that end-consumers have widely shifted their preferences towards being more sustainable, with about 60 percent rating it as an important criterion in their purchases. Globally, a multitude of companies are making efforts to adjust to this new wave of interest, from airlines using green fuels to companies making green or recycled plastics.
However, the popular definition of sustainability is rapidly evolving from even as it becomes more important to consumers. Already various protocols, policies and frameworks that might have qualified something as sustainable a decade ago might well be considered an environmental “loophole” today. Moreover, sustainability inherently captures many different concerns including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, non-greenhouse gas pollution, land use impact, waste disposal, and the use of non-fossil feedstocks. Many of these concerns often find themselves at opposite ends of key trade-offs – the calculus for which is now changing as consumers begin to weigh sustainability metrics differently.
In this post, we’ll take a brief look at the artificial leather industry and how it exemplifies changing perceptions of sustainability.
Natural leather is the durable and flexible material produced from the chemically treated skins and hides of animals, and has been used since time immemorial. Although it was once used as an industrial material, it’s now mostly used for apparel, upholstery, and fashion accessories. To this day leather – or products mimicking it – has the cachet of luxury for many consumers and remains in high demand.
Despite being a natural material, leather is widely criticized for being environmentally unfriendly in addition to traditional ethical and religious concerns. Not only is it associated with the high GHG and land use impacts of animal husbandry, tannery processes are also highlighted as involving toxic chemicals that often become persistent pollutants. This has led in recent years to a major increase in the demand for leather alternatives – but which are themselves often controversial for their own environmental impacts.
Mainstream artificial leather was first developed in the latter half of the 20th century as a low-cost leather substitute. It uses textile reinforcements along with a resin, usually polyurethane or vinyl but more recently including silicones, in conjunction with a top coat finish to produce a skinfeel and durability that mimics natural leather. After falling out of fashion for non-upholstery uses in the late 20th century, it has recently come roaring back after successfully rebranding to “vegan leather,” highlighting the connection in consumers’ minds between animal welfare, environmental impact and the positive sustainability aspects of the vegan diet. This perception, though, is under attack.
The fashion industry has begun to openly address the way in which different products can offer different trade-offs in terms of sustainability. At the same time, it has highlighted ways in which the focus of sustainability concerns has increasingly changed from a focus on natural materials, land use, and toxic waste to GHGs and waste disposal.
Unlike in many other situations, the fact that leather is bio-origin does not contribute to its perception of sustainability. However, the increasing focus on greenhouse gas impacts and waste disposal has allowed advocates of traditional leather to strike back against the sustainability claims of artificial leather. Unlike mainstream artificial substitutes, leather is biodegradable and, in high-quality form, significantly more durable than polyurethane and vinyl leather, theoretically resulting in fewer overall purchases. The industry’s defenders have also noted that many hides are widely considered to be a byproduct of meat production, bringing into question just how much of the environmental impacts of animal husbandry – especially GHG emissions – can be directly assigned to leather.
At the same time, this new focus has resulted in a loss of status for conventional artificial leather. PU and PVC leather substitutes are not only largely petroleum-based, but also have significant associated GHG emissions of their own from manufacturing. Silicone leathers are in a similar situation. All do not biodegrade in the environment are difficult to recycle. This has led to major criticism of conventional artificial leather’s sustainability claims as “greenwashing.”
Dueling studies on GHG impacts, different weighting assigned to waste disposal, land use and GHG concerns, as well as the ever-present feedback from marketing have caused continuing controversy in the fashion industry. Different designers and fashion houses have staked out positions in the ongoing debate. While all acknowledge that there are trade-offs involved in sustainability, these are also weighed against the ethical concerns of the fragmented fashion industry as well as more prosaic concerns about price point, marketing, and design.
Still others, however, are seeking the best of all worlds with the development of alternative products, which use one of three major feasible and viable approaches:
Biotechnology approaches use engineered fungi or single-celled organisms to produce leather-like raw materials from sugar or other plant-based feedstocks. This not only includes advanced fermentation companies like Modern Meadow and Provenance Biofabrics but also a host of mushroom leather companies like MycoWorks and Amadou. These seek to reduce environmental impact by using plant-based feedstocks and low-impact manufacturing processes.
New formulation approaches adapt conventional artificial leather to be more environmentally friendly by replacing either their textile backing or their resin with more sustainable components or fillers. These companies include Ananas Anam, Vegea, and Desserto. These seek sustainability by reducing the use of fossil-origin materials and using higher proportions of biodegradable substances.
Novel composite approaches radically depart from conventional concepts of artificial leather and instead produce alternative products that hope to carry the same cachet. Companies in this space include the “no compromise” bio-leather company Natural Fiber Welding as well as the “leaf leather” companies Tree Tribe and Biophilica. These approaches use novel processing approaches that enable a high proportion of low-impact materials in the final product.
All these new products seek to circumvent the trade-offs between natural leather and artificial leather by creating products that have even lower GHG emissions, lower land use impacts, and better disposability characteristics while offering the same traditional benefits of using natural materials and avoiding toxic waste contamination. Competition is fierce, as the sustainable characteristics of the material are just as important as its ability to mimic the characteristics and durability of natural leather.
Find out more...
The sustainable artificial leather industry and many innovative companies in it are profiled as part of NexantECA’s Biorenewable Insights: Biocomposites (2021 Program), part of NexantECA’s Technology and Costs Program. This report provides an analysis of technologies and activity within the biocomposites space. Biocomposites investigated include bioresins (such as PLA, TPS, and others) and use of biomass (such as wood, natural fiber, or other materials) as filler or binder material. Several case studies are also provided.
Author
Joshua C. Velson, Consultant
About Us - NexantECA, the Energy and Chemicals Advisory company is the leading advisor to the energy, refining, and chemical industries. Our clientele ranges from major oil and chemical companies, governments, investors, and financial institutions to regulators, development agencies, and law firms. Using a combination of business and technical expertise, with deep and broad understanding of markets, technologies and economics, NexantECA provides solutions that our clients have relied upon for over 50 years.
