Are leather sofas ethical?

Modern society has evolved in such a way that many materials and products are mass produced and are widely available.

Leather, for example, is made from the hide of animals (most commonly cows). This hide is obtained as a by-product of the meat and dairy industry where animals are used for meat and other produce.

As a sofa based website, we will look at tackling this question by giving you the information necessary to make your own decision on the question:

Are leather sofas ethical?

Where does the leather come from to make sofas?

Although many different animals such as cows, pigs and goats can be used to make leather it is cow hide that is the preference for making leather sofas. This is because cow hide is heavier and has greater durability than other types of hide.

Cow hide is obtained directly from the meat and dairy industry, with the majority of it coming from China.

For some context, approximately 2.6 million cattle are slaughtered for human consumption in the UK each year.

Most leather sofas that you will come across are therefore likely to contain leather made from cows which have been processed in this industry. We say likely because there are synthetic vegan-friendly leather materials, such as faux leather, that can also be used to make leather sofas that are growing in popularity.

These so called vegan leathers are typically derived from polyvinyl chloride or polyurethane, which are petroleum based products.

How is cow hide processed into leather?

Before a cow hide can be processed into leather it must first be placed in  salt brine to prevent decomposition, which is a method of curing. There are other methods of curing that may also be used such as freezing or chilling, but using salt is the most common method.

Once the cured hide is obtained it is soaked in water.

Soaking the hide in water has two main benefits: it allows the hide to reabsorb any lost moisture from transportation and curing, and it cleans the hide of any dirt.

After the hide has been soaked it will swell in size as a result of water absorption. Following this there are many stages which involved removing hair and any flesh, preparing the hide for tanning.

Tanning

Tanning is the key stages in the processing of a hide to produce the leather that we all know. Tanning changes the protein structure of the hide, making it more durable and commonly resulting in a colour change.

Tanning is done physically by loading the hides into a drum containing a tanning agent

There, unsurprisingly, lots of tanning agents. Some of these are chemically-based such as oils or aldehydes, and some are vegetable based such as various plant extracts.

Usually either a mixture of either vegetable oils or chromium salts will be employed. If a vegetable tanning agent is used the leather will be more flexible whilst a chromium salt agent will make the leather more stretchable.

There of course various other stages involved but for the sake of simplicity we have only covered the major steps. 

Are cows used only for their hide?

As a business, it is more cost effective for large scale meat processing plants to make use of all of the remains of the cow. This means that the hides which are used in the leather industry come from meat processing who have no use for them.

Depending on your viewpoint this does tend to cause a morale dilemma. Many people believe that there is no need to rely on animals for consumption and that these factories should not exist, however others could see this as making the most out of a bad situation.

Remember we are only giving you the facts, it is purely up to you what opinion you decide to form after reading this article.

Why use real leather if there are artificial alternatives?

This is an interesting question because there are alternatives to leather that have been developed that do not rely on animal produce.

We already mentioned some of these earlier, commonly being made from petroleum based chemicals.

Its worth considering this questions from 2 different standpoints.

Difference in material quality

Materials produced to imitate leather will never be able to match it entirely. It is thought that artificial leather does not have the same look or durability as real leather, and does not wear in the same way.

Despite this there are many people who simply wouldn’t notice if their leather was real or not, so this can cause a bit of debate. Genuine leather does tend to fade in a more aesthetically pleasing way and is authentic, so it is ultimately up to the buyer as to which material they decide to use.

The general consensus is that artificial leather is less durable and will need replacing more often when compared to natural leather.

How are the chemicals produced to make artificial leather

Although artificial leather does not involve the unfortunate usage of animals it does raise another question, where do the chemicals come from that produce such artificial leather?

The two main chemicals that are used, polyurethane and polyvinyl chloride, are produced from chemicals which are derived from oil.

Without getting into the technicalities, we all know that oil production is not the best thing for the environment, which leaves a tough question.

If the only alternative is artificial leather which is based from oil, then are there actually any other options?

So, are leather sofas ethical?

It is not at our discretion to share our personal views on this question here, but we hope you have learnt something to help you decide on your view towards this sensitive subject.

If you are certain that you want a leather sofa its important to know the origin of it so you can feel comfortable with your purchase.

There are arguments for both side of this debate so please feel free to let us know if we missed any points by contacting us here.