In a statement that might incense vegans, a global group of automotive leather manufacturers and suppliers called One 4 Leather says cowhide car interiors are benefiting the planet.
The group claims if the automotive industry stopped using leather altogether, 35-million hides would go to landfill. This would emit an extra 644-million kilograms of CO2 equivalent annually, the same as driving an average internal combustion engine car 6.4-billion kilometres.
Leather is a by-product of the meat and dairy industry and no cattle are bred for hides, claims One 4 Leather, adding 331-million cattle are processed each year by the meat industry, creating more than 2.18-billion cubic metres of hides, equivalent to twice the volume of Mount Everest.
It takes two or three cow hides to provide enough leather for the seats of a standard family car.
“With global beef consumption rising, the leather industry is pivotal as it upcycles hides that would otherwise rot in landfill and emit billions of tonnes of CO2 equivalent each year,” said a One 4 Leather spokesperson.
The group estimated 40% of the 331-million hides (more than 3.8-billion kilograms) go to landfill, the equivalent to 6,650 fully laden Airbus A380s. Of the remaining 60%, the automotive leather industry takes and processes 18%. If laid end-to-end, the hides the automotive industry saves from landfill would wrap around the earth 1.8 times.
One 4 Leather called for manufacturers to increase their use of the natural material.
The group said: “The automotive industry can make a difference to the planet by using more leather in its cars, thus reducing the number of hides going to waste. If the demand for automotive leather increases by only 10%, it would save 3.5-million hides from landfill. That’s a saving of more than 64-million kilograms of CO2 equivalent and enough leather for 1.1-million car interiors.”
Car manufacturers have used synthetic leather for years because it is easy to clean, durable and cheaper than the real thing. More recently artificial leather has been pitched as a sustainable choice and a number of vehicles use “vegan leather” upholstery that has no animal-derived materials, including wool.
Traditionally, vinyl has been used as a leather-look substitute, including the MB-Tex material used in Mercedes-Benzes. Recently greener sources have been used to line the interiors of modern cars, including plants and mushrooms.
Volvo recently announced it won't use leather in its electric cars from 2030. The leather will be replaced with a material called “Nordico” made of textiles derived from recycled plastic PET bottles and corks recycled from the wine industry.
“Car manufacturers are keen to promote greener options to leather in the form of PU and PVC materials. However, most leather alternatives contain more than 80% plastic,” argued One 4 Leather.
“It’s the small amount of plant or vegetable (mushroom, pineapple, cactus) content that grabs the headlines. These composite materials are difficult and very expensive to recycle so they will inevitably end up in landfill.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.