Car brands can't stop talking about how much they care about the environment. Chrome disappears and various parts are made from recycled PET bottles or even olive tree remains. Several brands are also moving away from the use of leather in the interior. You don't expect it, but leather suppliers are against the use of artificial leather. They don't think the fake stuff is sustainable.
Thirteen leather companies form 'One 4 Leather'. They believe that the use of real leather can actually contribute to a sustainable image. There is no need for an alternative to real leather in your interior. That sounds like Marlboro is defending that it is better to smoke cigarettes than vape, but the companies still have quite good arguments.
The leather is there after all, the companies believe
'If the automotive industry collectively stops using leather, 35 million skins will go to landfill, which would mean 644 million kilos of extra CO2 emissions per year. That is the same as driving an average combustion engine car 6.4 billion kilometers or driving Route 66 1.6 million times,” the companies write. Or 1,488,372,093 laps at Circuit Zandvoort.
The companies argue that farmers do not breed animals for the hides and that leather is therefore a by-product: 'Data shows that 331 million animals are slaughtered every year for the meat industry, yielding 2.18 billion cubic meters of hides. That is the equivalent of twice the volume of Mount Everest.” Or 2,180,000,000,000,000 sugar cubes.
The comparisons don't stop: 'Sources estimate that 40 percent of the 331 million hides (more than 3.8 million kilos) go to landfill. That is the equivalent of 6,650 (fully loaded) Airbus A380s.' Or… nah, never mind. Of the 60 percent that remains, the car industry uses 18 percent. “If laid end to end, the skins that the auto industry saves from landfill could wrap around the Earth 1.8 times,” according to the companies.
Why real leather is better in an interior than other materials
In addition to the surplus of leather that is up for grabs, alternatives are not good for the environment according to One 4 Leather. Most replacements would consist of more than 80 percent plastic and would be difficult to recycle. “The automotive industry could make a difference to the planet by using more leather in its cars,” the leather suppliers even say.
For one last comparison, One 4 Leather finally touches on car interiors. 'If demand for automotive leather grew by just 10 percent, it would save 3.5 million skins from landfill. That is a saving of 64 million kilos of CO2 emissions and enough for the leather in 1.1 million car interiors,” concludes the lobby. Or about three years of new cars sold in the Netherlands.
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