As long as people eat meat, leather can be an industry byproduct and a realistic sustainable proposition. A huge shift in cattle culture, however, needs to happen first. While there is a move toward “sustainable” leather sourcing from free-range cows, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. To really impact change, we still need a mass-market solution.

Cattle and deforestation

One of the main issues of late, as raised by Greenpeace’s “Slaughtering the Amazon” campaign, is that it’s the fashion industry—rather than the meat one—that is driving an increase in cattle farming. The result is that swathes of the Amazon continue to be cut down for grazing lands and growing soybeans for animal feed.

It’s the fashion industry—rather than the meat one—that is driving an increase in cattle farming.

The demand for leather products will increase until leather supply is properly restricted and much higher prices are reached in the hide market (which is effectively a commodity market). It’s critical that the price increase and restrictions go hand-in-hand so that it doesn’t become even more attractive to raise cattle for leather. Otherwise, leather will be a byproduct of an environmental disaster.