#vegetabletanning — Public Fediverse posts

The new face of British #leather – how #RegenerativeFarming is reshaping fashion

British Pasture Leather’s MADE WITH collection is a collaboration connecting farmers, designers, and makers to restore value to the land and everything that grows from it – Caroline Garland explores whether these materials could provide a compelling alternative to conventional leather

Tuesday 28 October 2025

Excerpt: "What Grady and Robinson are offering is a compelling alternative to conventional leather. The global leather industry currently relies on factory farming, toxic tanning chemicals, and untraceable supply chains that are harmful to both people and planet. Industrial tanning often uses #chromium and other hazardous substances that pollute waterways and expose workers to toxic chemicals. It’s about as far away from nature as you can possibly get.

"Robinson elaborates: 'As a designer, you don’t have the choice to work with a material that has a connection to agriculture or a specific part of the food system that you wish to support. After my own collection, I found there really wasn’t a way to work with a similar type of leather that offered that provenance that opportunity to connect to landscapes and farming communities.'

"Grady adds: 'If we are raising animals for food, we should use all parts of those animals meaningfully. We put so much care into raising them thoughtfully, prioritising welfare and #ecosystems and when transformed into leather, it’s the part that endures. I realised we don’t look at leather as an agricultural product, but we should be able to make that distinction and bring the same values we bring to our food choices.' "

Read more:
https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/fashion-beauty/the-new-face-of-british-leather-how-regenerative-farming-is-reshaping-fashion-b2845046.html

#SolarPunkSunday #AnimalProducts #VegetableTanning #RegenerativeAgriculture #BiodegradableLeather
#Microplastics #Pleather

How to Bark Tan Hide

Co-authored by Mike Stramiello
Last Updated: March 10, 2025

"Bark tanning is the ancient process of creating a durable, water-repellent leather by tanning animal hide with tree bark. Bark tanning takes several months to complete but will result in a finished leather that you can use to create clothing, hinges, saddles, boots, wallets, bags, and other leather items. If you create the tree bark liquor or solution with the right ingredients, prepare the animal hide correctly, and use the right process to dye the hide, you can bark tan cattle, horse, buffalo, or pig hides.

White oak gives the leather a yellowish shade while chestnut oak turns hides a dark brown. Hemlock bark will give the leather a dark reddish-brown color." [No reason to use chrome or other dye chemicals -- make do with what nature provides!]

Things You’ll Need

- Hides
- Tree bark
- Water
- Wood chipper/shredder
- Plastic container
- Dull knife
- Salt
- Hydrated lime [which could be made from crushed, heated seashells -- more about that in another post]

Learn more:
https://www.wikihow.com/Bark-Tan

#SolarPunkSunday #AnimalProducts #TanningLeather #Leather #VegetableTanning #Biodegradable versus #Microplastics #Pleather