Alt-leather is known by many names

The list of labels to identify alternative Leather is endless, and includes synthetic, vegan, and faux leather. Alt-leather takes animals out of the equation, substituting skins for a variety of animal-free feedstocks. This includes plant materials like Hemp stalks, mango waste, and pineapple leaves, as well as funga feedstocks, bacterial Cellulose, and oil-based materials such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyurethane (PU). Some alt-leather is a combination of these materials. To better understand them, it's helpful to categorise alt-leather according to the following three categories: faux leather (PU and PVC leather), plant-plastic hybrids, and plastic-free leather. The synthetic leather market was valued at USD 51.81 billion in 2015 and is projected to reach USD 208.81 billion by 2026. As the vegan movement continues to increase demand for animal-free products across the food, beverage, beauty, and textile industries, leather alternatives are becoming highly sought after, but they aren't all created equal.

The majority of alt-leather is plastic

Most alt-leather contains some form of plastic, a petroleum product. Due to its relatively low cost, plastic leather – also known as 'pleather' – has become widely available on the fashion and leather goods markets, and animal rights organisations like PETA advocate for it in spite of its plastic content, simply because of its vegan status. But its cheap cost doesn’t take into account the adverse environmental and health effects associated with it. And while it might be vegan, the use of faux leather is increasing our reliance on the fossil fuel industry, defying the much-needed global agenda to end plastic production.

Emerging plant-plastic hybrids heavily depend on plastic-based fabric backings like polyester and PU or PVC-based coatings to mimic the functionality, colour fastness, and performance of genuine leather. Piñatex, for example, uses a combination of 80% pineapple leaf fibre and 20% polylactic acid (PLA) – a vegetable-based plastic – and is coated with a water-based PU resin. The majority of Desserto's cactus leather-like material is made from PU, and AppleSkin is actually a blend of apple waste and PU, backed by a Cotton-polyester fabric. This makes alt-leather a problematic material to work with. PU and PVC are inherently toxic to humans, wildlife, and ecosystems at all stages in their lifecycle. A 2020 European Commission study found that the PVC industry's impact includes air and drinking water contamination, exposure to carcinogenic substances for workers involved in its production, and ozone depletion, among others. Furthermore, consumers using plastic-based products are also exposed through the shedding of microfibres, putting their health at risk.

Alt-leather is not inherently better for the environment

Traditional leather is a by-product of animal agriculture, a carbon-intensive industry. The environmental impact of cattle farms is causing mass deforestation and biodiversity loss in the Amazon, generating ludicrously high greenhouse gas emissions, and elevating concerns about animal welfare. And whether leather goods are sourced from the meat industry's waste or not, leather is notoriously over-processed, normally coated in plastic, and uses hazardous heavy metals for tanning and dyeing practices, leading to respiratory diseases and higher morbidity rates among workers. However, chrome-free leather tanning agents, such as Zeology, mitigate these risks.

While alt-leathers don’t rely on animal agriculture, they have their own pitfalls from an ecological standpoint. Raw animal leather can be naturally and harmlessly broken down into organic matter by microorganisms, as demonstrated by Anya Hindmarch's Return to Nature handbag collection, whereas the majority of alt-leather is non-biodegradable. The most likely end-of-life scenario for these products is landfill, where they'll spend hundreds of years slowly leaching microplastics into our soils and waterways. Any alt-leather seeking to displace genuine leather will have to account for its entire lifecycle, and phase plastic out of its final composition so it can be disposed of safely.

The debate about the environmental credentials of animal leather versus faux leather and plant-plastic hybrids is highly disputed and extremely nuanced. There isn't a clear-cut answer, and neither is inherently kinder to the environment. Vet the material you're exploring, from sourcing and processing through to the end of its life, to determine whether it's the right choice.

Alt-leather can fall short on performance

A major concern about alt-leather is durability. High-quality genuine leather is renowned for its long-lasting performance, strength, and "character". It ages gracefully and can be passed on for generations with the right care. In contrast, synthetic leather is more prone to cracking and peeling over long-term use, and is less repairable. This "accumulated degradation" means that alt-leather’s lifespan is considerably shorter. Alternative leather items will need to be replaced more frequently, incentivising fast fashion, a model we desperately need to transition away from. A further implication of alt-leather's relatively short life is that more of it needs to be manufactured over time to keep up with demand, meaning that the alt-leather market's carbon footprint could end up being far higher than current estimates.

Plastic-free leather alternatives are on the rise

As the global drive to phase out plastic from global textile and fashion supply chains gathers pace, innovative startups are using this moment to explore the possibilities of materials science. The variety of base materials being transformed into leather-like materials is vast. Some are looking to agricultural and food waste streams, like London-based startup Arda Biomaterials. Dubbed New Grain, this plastic-free leather is made from the beer industry's spent grain and is technically edible, proving how non-toxic it is. Mushroom leather is also having its moment, but biotech startup MycoWorks is committed to ensuring its Reishi leather, engineered through a patented Fine Mycelium process, doesn't require plastic additives to match leather on strength, durability, and colour-fastness. And NFW is scaling up production of its plant-powered leather known as Mirum, which has already gained the favour of global fashion brands including Stella McCartney, Pangaia, and H&M. While the availability of these emerging materials varies, there has never been a better time to make the switch to a plastic-free, circular, and regenerative alt-leather. A leather that comes from nature and goes back to it toxin-free, without harming any animals in the process.