Whether you consider leather a byproduct of the meat industry or complicit in its promotion, a durable "forever purchase" or an artifact of torture and murder, it's clear that more options abound than ever before. And we're not just talking about foul-smelling vinyl or its less-malevolent-but-still-pretty-plasticky kin (at least in virgin form), polyurethane. Today's faux leather comes in every stripe, from recycled plastic bottles to the stuff that keeps your bubbly stoppered. Above, Refinity's barkcloth trench, derived from the bark of the Mutuba tree in Uganda, offers the same tough-as-nails, fray-proof protection as cowhide.
BETTER “LEATHERS”
1. Barkcloth
2. Cork
5. Paper
Thanks for the article, although I am shocked to see that barkcloth makes the grade.
Barkcloth is made by “ringing” the tree and one piece of leather kills the enitre tree. Not really an eco-friendly alternative!
i guess i’m kinda confused about the reasons for buying vegan leather. I would never wear fur: so there’s no way I would want to wear fake fur as it’s made synthetically and doesn’t provide the actual warmth that real fur does. For me with leather, its the same thing. I buy vintage leather and some new leather because it’s a strong, long lasting material that’s really practical for shoes, boots, belts, etc. However, I’m not vegan: if I was I wouldn’t want to seem like a proponent of the most wasteful aspect of leather, the fact that it’s trendy or occasionally “in”
Dear R,
I like to react on your comment of 21th August.
I think you are mistaking Barkcloth with another process. The barkcloth I used for making the coat is stripped of the tree, but the tree just lives on, so we do not harm the tree. During the process of Barkcloth they use solar energy, and they help the local people to get education and an income.
If you want more information I can send you pdf’s and pictures which show you the process.
http://www.refinity.eu/en/trenchcoat—gary-symor.htm
http://english.barkcloth.de/html/englisch.html
I think it’s great that more brands are finding alternative to leahter. I think it is also important to consideer the footprint in both manufacturing and shippings. I read that in order to get a can of coke on the shelf of the supermarket, the whole process from raw materials to shipping travels halfway around the world!