Why leather alternatives don’t necessarily meet “pet-friendly” requirements

In the new film SLAY (slay.film) from award-winning French filmmaker and animal rights activist Rebecca Cappelli, we see how an animal becomes a knower. The word “cruel” to describe some of the film’s content is an understatement, but it’s a necessary message to spread, as positive change begins with awareness of a problem. SLAY asks us an important question: is it acceptable to harm animals for fashion?

Alternatives to leather are on the rise, but despite the eco-friendly claims made by fashion brands using these materials, there is scientific evidence that these claims could be misleading. It turns out – to paraphrase a saying – there are lies, damn lies and… vegan leather. Fair warning to faux leather fans, as the film SLAY reveals a few awkward details that the fashion industry doesn’t talk about when it comes to what leather alternatives are made from.

The only way to find out about greenwashing from alternative leather suppliers is to test their materials. The Research Institute for Leather and Plastics (FILK) in Freiberg did exactly that and examined samples of vegan leather under the microscope.

The FILK Institute examined the most well-known leather alternatives and compared them to animal leather. The motivation for the study can be found in a quote from the report’s abstract: “Consumers need to be able to decide what they want. To do this, they need to know what they are buying. Misleading terms are not helpful. This study creates clarity and makes it clear that leather is a special, natural material that mankind has not yet been able to reproduce with all its properties, even with a lot of know-how.”

The FILK study entitled “Comparison of the technical performance of leather, artificial leather and trendy alternatives” not only examines the differences in the composition of alternative materials compared to leather, but also tests the required performance properties in shoes, clothing and gloves. Below are four well-known examples of leather alternatives and what has been discovered about them under the microscope.

cactus leather

Desserto is a Mexican supplier of a leather alternative made from cactus waste. The invention was praised by the fashion industry and received awards such as the LVMH prize, but there is one important fact that is not publicly mentioned: the FILK found that the product was a PUR-coated textile that was made with is lined with polyester. The solid and partially foamed layer under the top layer is “filled with heterogeneous polyacrylate particles of organic origin”. In other words: plastic. This hybrid form of vegan leather, combining natural fibers with oil, is a disaster for the environment as dismantling the materials is not possible with today’s technology. In addition, the study on the pollutants found reports that Desserto contains the five banned substances butanone oxime, toluene, free isocyanate, folpet (an organic pesticide) and traces of the plasticizer diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP).

pineapple leather

Piñatex is another well-known product from the Spanish company Ananas Anam. According to the report, the fabric is a “non-woven fabric made from pineapple leaf fibers and PLA (polylactic acid); coated with pigmented resin or covered with a high-strength PUR film”. According to FILK, it is a non-woven fabric made from natural fibers coated with a thin layer of polymer similar to polyacrylate. There is a difference in the starting material between polylactic acid (PLA) and polyacrylate. The investigation found the following pollutants in the product: the plasticizer diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP).

apple leather

AppleSkin is an Italian product and company developed with the help of the textile company Frumat. Apple leather is made from by-products of the apple juice industry. The leftovers – the kernels and husks that end up as waste – are turned into a pulp that’s mixed with polyurethane to create a leather alternative. The following contaminants were found in AppleSkin: butanone oxime and traces of dimethylformamide (DMFa).

grape leather

Vegea is another Italian product and company from the northern region. A few years ago I met it personally at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit and asked about the composition. One of the team members explained to me that while Vegea wanted to do the right thing (100 percent plastic-free), customer feedback (fashion brands) forced it to use chemicals that FILK found to contain harmful substances like toluene.

It is better?

In terms of performance, the study shows that the tensile strength of the above leather alternatives does not match real leather. Piñatex, in particular, is proving to be weak, which means a product’s longevity is compromised. This raises the question of whether animal leather might be a better option in the interest of longevity. Replacing a product whose materials cannot be recycled is another problem in itself.

Another non-obvious problem

Coming back to the question posed in SLAY, “Is it acceptable to harm animals for fashion?” When we look at leather alternatives that use food waste with a coating and/or binders made from oil, it’s not that easy to say that these are better than the animal original from the point of view of animal welfare. In fact, another scientist, Professor Luke Haverhals – chemist, inventor and founder of Natural Fiber Welding – once explained to me how the oil fracking needed to make plastic leather directly kills wildlife in oil spills. The combination of these three elements – SLAY, the findings of the FILK and the lesson of Prof. Haverhals – makes it clear that we cannot simply claim that the discussed alternatives to leather (Desserto, Piñatex, AppleSkin and Vegea) are so much better, considering that harmful substances have been found originating from oil.

This translated article originally appeared on FashionUnited.uk. Translated and edited by Simone Preuss.