What is vegan leather? The innovative alternative to animal leather.
While not all players in the fashion industry are committed to finding solutions to moral and environmental sustainability issues, some brands in this sector—like your favorite vegan sneaker supplier—are working diligently to link fashion and ethics. At the heart of this transformation lies a profound questioning of our traditional processes and practices, particularly the use of animal leather.
This article explores the world of alternatives to animal leather, and attempts to answer the major questions that arise when discussing imitation leather and other innovative cruelty-free solutions.
What is vegan leather?
A whole range of materials resembling animal leather, due to their resemblance to the grain of tanned animal hide, their appearance, texture, and sheen, are classified as vegan leather, faux leather, or synthetic leather. These materials are intended to transpose the look of leather and to restore its physical characteristics (flexibility, elasticity, impermeability, durability, etc.), without using animal skin.
What is the composition of vegan imitation leather ?
Faux leathers can be made from polymers such as polyurethane (PU) or polyvinyl (PVC), but also others plant substances such as cotton, cork, or even plant waste made from mushrooms, apples, cacti, grape pomace and inedible cereals, as you can discover in our section “Plant-based sneakers”.
What is made from vegan imitation leather?
Synthetic leather is frequently used in the manufacture of Vegan shoes, handbags, wallets, clothing and other accessories. This versatility allows consumers to access a variety of products similar to those made from animal leather, but ethically different from the offering associated with classic leather, while retaining its style and comfort.
What are the benefits of vegan synthetic leather?
Beyond the economic, technical and aesthetic benefits of manufacturing synthetic leather, producing materials that imitate leather can serve various ethical interests.
To begin with, imitation leathers can be produced to replace leather in order to preserve life, and to contribute to respecting animal welfare. If they do not incorporate any animal products in the glues and materials composing their coating, imitation leathers are called vegan (vegan leathers), and identifiable as cruelty-free, like the materials used in the composition of COG sneakers.
Faux leathers can also be created for ecological purposes. Indeed, the production of traditional leather takes place largely outside of France, often between Asia and Latin America, particularly in the fast fashion.
This relocation is the source of significant greenhouse gas emissions. Combined with the various environmental impacts of livestock farming, it often makes leather an environmentally unfriendly and polluting material. This is particularly true of mineral leathers, whose hides are treated (tanned) using a process that employs chemicals which, once released into the environment, disrupt the balance of natural ecosystems.
Finally, as a direct consequence of the relocation of animal leather production sites, the leather industry has social and health repercussions on the health of workers in tanneries, but also on the surrounding populations who bear the brunt of the release of tannery products into nature.
The manufacture of synthetic leathers can thus be used a social model with a philanthropic aim.
This implies, of course, that the production of its leather imitations takes place in clean, safe and responsible workshops, offering consideration and respect for the rights of the women and men they employ.
With this in mind, our brand only uses imitation leathers from European manufacturers for the production of our vegan sneakers and eco-friendly dress shoes.
For manufacturers, using synthetic leathers therefore allows them to participate in the spread of responsible vegan fashion, to be part of a production model that preserves biodiversity, and helps to make the textile industry a less carbon-intensive sector.
For the public, the benefit of directing their purchases towards products of the type of imitation leather or imitation nubucks is not only to discover new alternatives, but also to participate in a moral approach, and to contribute to the development of a new, more conscious consumption model, respectful of humans, the environment, and all other forms of living beings.
Discover here COG's commitments.
What does the law say about the designation vegan leather ?
Legally, The use of the word leather is only permitted to refer to skin of animal origin. transformed. In this respect, the term vegan leather is neither appropriate nor permitted in the context of promoting synthetic leather. We are referring to alternatives such as “vegan leather”, by naming these leather-like materials, so as not to mislead the customer.
Also, in accordance with French regulations, companies are obliged to provide precise information on the composition of the products they distribute, including that of the raw materials that make up vegan leather goods, in order to ensure safety and transparency towards consumers.
For this reason, and because customer satisfaction is our priority, the COG vegan shoe development team pays particular attention to the choice of synthetic materials used in our shoes. Transparency is key to trust; you can find detailed information on the composition of each pair in our collections on the product page for each model.
Discover our high-top sneakers
Vegan faux leathers and COG shoes.
By ordering from COG, you are guaranteed to choose a pair of 100% cruelty-free shoes, meaning that All of our collections are vegan. Animal materials are banned in favor of high-quality plant and recycled materials as much as possible, such as imitation leather made from grape pomace waste, or imitation leather made from cereals.
Plastic materials are essential for ensuring the strength and durability of organic materials, and by extension, the sturdiness of shoes. These materials are largely recycled, and some are even recovered from the sea to help clean up coastal areas.
Go to the page Our Materials to learn more about the range of materials that make up your shoes.
What are the limits of vegan imitation leather ?
To discuss the qualities of a solution with honesty and transparency, It also means being able to appreciate its weaknesses and areas for improvement. Despite their many advantages, imitation leathers, like all materials, have their weaknesses and limitations.
Let's look at these together.
At the end of their lifespan, synthetic leathers can, in particular, pose problems challenges in terms of recycling and the management of the waste they represent. This is mainly due to the fact that synthetic leathers are composed of different amalgamated materials, difficult to separate, which are also essentially plastic materials.
Moreover, beyond their advantageous creative and technical properties, plastic polymers are no longer recyclable once the plastic fibers are mixed with other materials. In this respect, These products are not infinitely recyclable..
Furthermore, through repeated wear and tear, Plastics emit microparticles that can harm ecosystems land and sea.
COG's aside to denounce greenwashing.
Have you noticed that our editorial team doesn't position our vegan shoes as carbon neutral or zero waste? Not that eco-responsibility isn't a priority for us, quite the opposite!
But while these expressions constitute attractive marketing arguments to sell the merits of products that are supposedly perfectly ecological, at COG we believe that all activity generates emissions (even when these are reduced), and therefore for us, This kind of discourse constitutes a form of greenwashing that we wish to distance ourselves from.
To ensure that our vegan shoes are environmentally friendly, we are choosing transparency, and we are working hard to find the best and most responsible solutions on the market.
The limits of vegan faux leather, continued.
Just like leathers and other textile materials, imitation leathers are not all of equal quality, nor are they always comparable in terms of durability.
As mentioned in our section customized pricing, The price of a synthetic material can vary from one to five times higher when the composition of an item is made of high-quality vegan leather.
Also, the work of selecting materials is fundamental in the development phase of a imitation leather shoe, since it influences not only the lifespan of an item, but also its selling price.
In the case of COG, the mission of our development team is therefore not limited to offering shoes and sneakers that meet design and comfort criteria, but also to succeeding in retaining recycled, robust and affordable alternatives.
Your opinions and feedback on our products are very valuable to us! Don't hesitate to share them with us.
Leather is nothing more than processed hide, and before becoming leather, a hide is a complex living tissue with unique properties. Creating materials as supple, breathable, waterproof, and durable as leather is no easy feat, but today, plant-based and cruelty-free organic materials such as plant-based leathers made from grapes or apples are already producing comparable results.
Imitation leathers, a solution for the future.
The limitations of synthetic materials depend on the time and investment put into their development.
Therefore, tomorrow, imitation leathers will certainly not only be more environmentally friendly, but also more durable than genuine leather.
For now, in addition to already boasting fantastic technical features, Synthetic materials also have the advantage of being cruelty-free, preserving animal life and nature. ; and if only for that reason, We give a big yes to these new alternatives.
