Is vegan leather really a sustainable choice?

Recently, vegan leather has been popular with the mission of replacing real leather, reducing carbon emissions and negative impacts on the environment. As a business looking for green and sustainable solutions, AURY Vietnam would like to provide useful information so you can better understand this issue.

To find out if a material is considered sustainable. We need to consider factors such as: raw materials; life cycle as well as durability; and decomposition ability.

What is vegan leather made from?

Vegan leather contains about 80-90% plastics such as: polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyurethane (PU); The remaining percentage can come from pineapple leaves, apple peels, etc. Creating these types of plastic requires exploiting a large fossil fuel source, which means producing a large amount of CO2 for the earth.

While genuine leather is a byproduct of the meat and dairy industry because people do not raise cows for leather. The meat and dairy industry can increase the amount of waste due to human demand for meat and milk. Therefore, reusing cowhide helps this industry reduce a large source of waste and carbon.

The life cycle of vegan leather

Recently, Apple stopped producing FineWoven cases labeled "vegan" because of negative feedback from consumers.

When analyzing the durability of FineWoven cases and genuine leather cases. After 800 cycles, the FineWoven suffered a lot of wear and failed after 6400 cycles. Meanwhile, with 51,200 cycles, genuine leather is still not damaged. (Each cycle represents a movement under the influence of abrasive forces. This movement is usually elliptical or Lissajous to simulate the abrasion that materials encounter every day).

Decomposition ability

PVC and PU are both non-biodegradable. After about 500 years, these two substances can decompose. Besides, microplastics will affect the surrounding area, causing danger to marine life and wildlife.

Meanwhile, genuine leather can biodegrade after the end of its life cycle. It can be used to compost to improve soil, grow grass, provide food for cows and start a new cycle.

Vegan leather promises reduced environmental impact and is a step towards more humane production practices. However, after the above information, as a green consumer, can you still give your trust to products labelled vegan?