Top Questions About Leather for Cars Answered!
Leather is a highly preferred material for upholstering a car: it is sturdy, elegant, and easily customizable. While car leather is commonly used to enhance the premium look, touch and feel, as well as the durability of a car’s interior, there are many questions about this material. Many auto enthusiasts question whether car leather is sustainable or versatile, and whether animals are killed to produce leather. We will address these and more frequently asked questions about car leather in this article!
1. Is Car Leather Sustainable?
This is one of the most commonly asked questions we hear. The answer is absolutely! Car leather and leather in general are incredibly sustainable. The leather industry uses raw materials from the food industry, which means that the leather industry fully utilizes materials obtained from animals.
2. Does the Leather Industry Kill Animals for their Hides?
The main sources of animal hides are:
- Cattle: 69%
- Sheep: 13%
- Goats: 11%
- Pigs: 6%
The animal skins are a valuable global resource and, thanks to tanners’ and manufacturers’ skills and knowledge, these versatile materials do not end up in a landfill. Current estimates put this at a saving of 7.3 million tonnes for cattle hides alone and around 10 million tonnes in total per year. That is a tremendous amount of potential waste being transformed into a versatile, usable material.
3. Is Leather Versatile?
Leather manufacturers use this raw material and leverage its extraordinary versatility. Depending on its source, and the finish used, the hide or skin can be used to create sturdy footwear, handbags and clothing, and durable-yet-comfortable car leather seating. Leather can even be hard enough for the sole of shoes or soft enough for the finest gloves.
4. Is Leather Durable?
The leather from one animal can be used for many years’ worth of practical applications. Leather items such as leather car seats or leather wrapped car steering wheels can last for decades if these items are taken care of with oils, creams and pigments products, repaired and reused.
5. Is Leather Biodegradable?
Leather is absolutely biodegradable. Leather decomposes in the environment in roughly 25 to 45 years. Compared to plastics that take hundreds of years to biodegrade and produce microplastics that are damaging to the environment, leather is a more eco-friendly material to upholster a car's interior or use to manufacture goods.
6. Is the Leather Industry Responsibly Governed?
Nearly every nation in the globe produces leather, and the vast majority engages in production in a transparent and responsible manner. For example, chemicals used in leather production are highly regulated. In addition, The Leather Working Group (LWG) is a global organization that has developed an environmental audit standard to help manufacturers and consumers understand how their leather was made.
Ready to shop for auto upholstery car leather for your next client project? Shop at our online car leather store! You can purchase everything from steering wheel leather to Nappa leather.
