Public opinion rightly condemns the use of animals for their fur.  Fur is regarded as a cruel luxurious status symbol and little else.  Leather does not always receive such condemnation.  In fact it is often regarded as a practical by-product of the meat industry, environmentally sound, a quality product readily available to all.  However, there is myth and ignorance surrounding its production.  Here we provide the reasons why we should condemn leather as vociferously as we condemn fur. 

Leather & the ‘By-Product’ Myth

Those purchasing leather products may try to reassure themselves that the animal it came from had already been killed for meat, so it matters little that they 'use up' the remaining skin for a pair of shoes or a jacket.  It matters because by doing this they will be helping to subsidise the meat industry.  Purchasing leather ensures the continuity of a massive industry based on animal suffering. In the past 20 years, there has been a massive increase in the value of the leather industry. In the mid 1980s the global trade was worth about US$16 billion; it is now worth around US$100 billion.

Exotic Leathers

Most leather in the UK is made from the skins of cattle, calves, sheep, lambs, goats and pigs.  However, many other species are hunted and killed worldwide specifically for their skins.  These include zebras, bison, water buffalo, boars, deer, kangaroos, alligators, elephants, sharks, dolphins, seals, walruses, crocodiles, lizards and snakes.  In 2000 Europe exported over 2 million items made from ‘exotic leathers’.

Exploding the ‘Bio-Degradable’ Myth

The leather industry tries to convince the public that its product is biodegradable and a positive purchase if you care about the environment.  After all, whoever heard of an environmentally friendly plastic?

What the leather industry fails to mention is that in its natural state leather would never be used for shoes, boots, bags or anything else because in its 'natural' state it rots extremely rapidly.  However, even before it rots down to nothing, it still can't be used because it becomes rigidly hard and cracks in the winter or goes very soft and limp in the summer.  At the end of the day those leather shoes wouldn't last very long at all in their 'natural' state.

The leather now needs to have the water removed (samming), be cut to a specified thickness (splitting) and have any irregularities evened out (skiving).  Next the acid from the tanning process must be neutralized and the leather dyed then greased to achieve the required softness.  It is then dried, softened further by mechanized staking and finally finished with colouring, embossing, ironing, and so on.

Many of the processes required to make this ‘natural’ product into a usable commodity involve the use of hazardous chemicals that are a threat to the environment and to the health of leather industry workers.

Leather & the Environment

The amount of waste and pollution generated by the leather manufacturing industry is phenomenal.  The stench from a tannery is overwhelming.  Not only do they pollute the air, they also pollute the rest of the environment with the use of a multitude of harsh toxic chemicals.

The World Bank’s Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook states that, “the potential environmental impacts of tanning are significant.”  It goes on to highlight wastewater as one of the main problems, describing the 20-80 cubic metres of polluted water emitted for each ton of hide or skin produced as “turbid, colored, and foul smelling.”  This waste is made up of acidic and alkaline liquids, including chromium, sulfide, nitrogen and chloride.  It can also contain pesticide residues and “significant levels” of pathogens, which can cause disease.  High levels of fat are also present.

The handbook continues:

“Significant volumes of solid wastes are produced, including trimmings, degraded hide, and hair…The solid wastes can represent up to 70% of the wet weight of the original hides.  In addition, large quantities of sludges are generated.  Decaying organic material produces strong odors.  Hydrogen sulfide is released during dehairing, and ammonia is released in deliming.  Air quality may be further degraded by release of solvent vapors from spray application, degreasing, and finishing…”

Tanneries are often sited near rivers, where there is a plentiful water supply and an instant means of wastewater disposal.

The World Bank’s report only deals with the final stages in the leather manufacturing process.  Going back to the beginning of the horrific chain of events that ends up with a leather product, we find environmental problems already very evident.  Farms that breed animals are in fact themselves an environmental problem. 

The raising of livestock for meat, milk and leather products contributes to global warming, deforestation, desertification, water pollution and the malnourishment of millions of people.  A diet based on animal products is far more land, water and energy intensive than a plant-based diet – and this fact should also be taken into consideration when judging the environmental impacts of leather versus synthetic or plant-based materials.  

The type of meat that is purchased in the UK has a direct effect on the type of leather available for the leather manufacturing industry.  If everybody decided they only wanted to eat young lambs under a month old, then the skin made available for the leather industry would be very thin, soft and pliable. 

‘Better Leather’ from Babies

The younger the animal at the time of slaughter, the smoother and finer the grain structure and the less likelihood of damage due to scratches, parasite damage, ringworm, dung contamination, improper flaying or inadequate salting.  The most prized skin is obtained from unborn calves and is used to make soft suede.

Leather = Animal Suffering

The livestock industry produces the skin that the leather industry uses.  Animals begin by being bred in intensive, semi-intensive or extensive systems.  In other words they may be factory farmed as in the case of veal calves (veal crates are banned in this country but calves are still raised for veal indoors in groups) or alternatively animals such as sheep may be farmed extensively in hilly upland areas where they are more or less left to their own devices suffering extremes of weather, disease and a lack of adequate food.  Even gentle dairy cows, who are often admired casually grazing the British countryside during the summer, are housed for 6 months throughout the winter.  Some dairy cows are housed all year round. 

Both cattle and sheep undergo a variety of painful procedures depending on their species and sex.  Castration, ear-tagging, tail-docking and artificial insemination are just some of the things they are forced to endure.

Disease is also rife.  We all know about BSE and Foot and Mouth - we’ve watched in horror as a pathetic ‘mad cow’ struggles to stand, and anyone who ventured into the countryside in the summer of 2001 will never forget the sight and smell of burning carcasses.  But there are many other less newsworthy health problems that farmed animals suffer from day in, day out.

Lameness

The Government’s advisory body on the welfare of livestock, the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC), has stated that, “lameness in dairy cattle is at an unacceptably high level.”  Research conducted by the University of Liverpool found 55 new cases of lameness every year for every 100 cows studied. 

Lameness is a major health and welfare problem in all sheep producing countries.  It is generally regarded as the greatest cause of pain and discomfort in sheep.

Mastitis

Mastitis is a very painful bacterial infection of the udder that causes inflammation and swelling.  The udder becomes hard and hot with an abnormal discharge.  In the recently calved cow the milk is thick, creamy and smells foul.  The cow is often lame in one or both hind legs with swollen joints.  Body temperature can be high and in some cases pregnant cows will abort or produce a stunted calf. 

FAWC have stated: “Mastitis is a very significant disease of dairy cattle and occurs in all dairy herds.”  Its 1997 Report on the Welfare of Dairy Cattle found 35 to 40 cases of mastitis per 100 cows per year.

Sheep suffer similarly.  In acute cases the ewe will have a raised temperature and the udder may start to turn a very dark colour as gangrene sets in.  If this occurs, the whole or part of the udder can eventually slough off.  Breastfeeding lambs can starve to death before the stockman becomes aware of the problem.  In extreme cases, the ewe will rapidly die of septicemia.  Mild mastitis in sheep will result in permanent damage to the udder, usually in the form of abscesses, and ewes are often culled as a result.

Transportation

Animals are frequently forced to endure journeys of up to 40 hours by road and by sea, during which they are crammed into trucks where they are suffer from a range of problems, including fear and pain associated with the strange environment and confined quarters, heat and motion stress, hunger, thirst, exhaustion and risks of infection.  Despite increasing public pressure to end live exports, the suffering continues.

Slaughter

Sheep are very vulnerable to stress during drawing out (selecting) for slaughter, loading and transporting to the abattoir.  In fact most of the stress on the day of slaughter is associated with handling, transport and lairage (holding animals just before slaughter).  These problems become more intense for animals that are unadapted to handling.  Sheep are usually slaughtered by electrical stunning followed by throat cutting.  They are either held as a group whilst stunning takes place, or held in individual pens. FAWC’s report on the slaughter of animals for red meat states that, “a successful stun is heavily dependent on the skill of the operator.”  If stunning is not effective sheep may regain consciousness when they have their throats slit or while blood is being drained from their body.  Abattoir workers are not required to have any formal training or qualifications.

Cattle suffer in similar ways: much of the distress experienced on the day of slaughter is caused by transportation and lairage.  Smaller animals and calves are usually herded into open pens in groups and electrical stunning used.  Captive bolt stunning is commonly used for larger animals.  It is a bolt, propelled by a blank cartridge or compressed air, which penetrates the skull and destroys part of the brain.  After stunning animals have their throats slit (stuck) and are bled to death.  It is the bleeding that causes death.  It is highly probably that many animals are being stunned inadequately or have begun to regain consciousness before being bled – these animals die in pain and distress.

Animals used for Hal-al or Kosher meat are not stunned prior to being bled.  FAWC considers that “killing without pre-stunning is unacceptable” because of the level of suffering involved.  There is no way of differentiating between leather from animals killed in this way and leather from animals that have been ‘humanely’ stunned before being bled to death.

The general public buy millions of tonnes of plastic products each year with very little thought.  Think of the number of washing up liquid or shampoo bottles every family uses in a month and one pair of good quality synthetic shoes really doesn't seem so bad after all.  This isn't to say that purchasing synthetic footwear is going to be one of the most environmentally friendly acts of the year, and where possible sustainable materials such as organically produced hemp are preferable.  However, synthetic shoes or boots may last several years of heavy wear and tear before they have to be replaced.  Good quality non-leather footwear is now easy to purchase.  The days of a pair of plastic shoes lasting several weeks before they fall apart are over, providing you choose well-made products.  Of course, the best thing about non-leather footwear is that no animal suffered to produce them. 

Alternatives to Leather

There is now a fabulous range of non-leather footwear available, from hardwearing safety boots to summer sandals.  Fabrics are durable, weatherproof and warm, and allow the feet to 'breathe'.  In addition to a range of footwear, many companies now produce non-leather jackets, bags, wallets and belts.

Aniline leather - leather dyed with aniline (a transparent dye)

Calfskin - skin from a young bovine

Chamois leather - split sheepskin or lambskin, some chamois is treated with aldehyde and marine oils

Cordovan - leather from horse

Crust - leather that has been tanned but not finished

Fifth quarter - parts of the animal that cannot be eaten

Flay - to strip the skin off an animal

Hide - applies to skins of large animals e.g. cattle

Kidskin - skin from a young goat or lamb

Lambskin - skin from a lamb or young sheep

Leather - an animal hide or skin which has been preserved and treated for use

Leatherette - a manufactured product that imitates leather

Lorica – animal-free alternative to leather.  Widely used in non-leather footwear, it has ‘breathability,’ durability and strength.

Nappalan - a suede leather with a very light coat of finish

Nubuck - the grain surface of a hide or skin is sometimes abraded to give a very fine suede effect, sometimes referred to as degrained leather

Nude leathers - dyed leather without a protective finish

Sheepskin - skin of a wool bearing sheep made into leather but still bearing the original wool

Simulated sheepskin - may be made using a sueded leather from cattle or sueded sheep leather

Skin - made from smaller animals e.g. sheep, goat or pig

Suede - a type of finish originally applied to leather produced in Sweden, which had the grain layer i.e. the outer surface of a hide or skin removed and a fine nap raised by mechanical action.  Suede is now usually made from the flesh surface of a hide or skin

References