We Need to Talk About Leather, Plastic, and Greenwashing

Leather has a massive environmental cost, but “vegan leather” isn’t the clean solution it’s often marketed as. From livestock emissions and toxic tanning chemicals to plastic-based alternatives that never biodegrade, this video breaks down the real impact of leather, pleather, and plant-based options. We’ll look at what materials are actually available, where greenwashing happens, and what to watch out for if you want to make more sustainable fashion choices. Sources: Meyer, Michael, et al. “Comparison of the Technical Performance of Leather, Artificial Leather, and Trendy Alternatives.” Coatings, vol. 11, no. 2, 2021, MDPI, https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/11/2/226 Williams, Ellie, et al. “Life Cycle Assessment of MycoWorks’ Reishi™ Alternative Leather.” Environmental Sciences Europe, vol. 34, 2022, Springer, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12302-022-00689-x Gould, Louisa. “Footwear Materials: Leather vs Synthetics.” Ethical Consumer, https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/fashion-clothing/footwear-leather-synthetics “Most Eco-Friendly Vegan Leather Alternatives.” Project Cece, https://www.projectcece.com/blog/670/most-eco-friendly-vegan-leather-alternatives/ “Livestock Don’t Contribute 14.5% of Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions.” The Breakthrough Institute, https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/food-agriculture-environment/livestock-dont-contribute-14-5-of-global-greenhouse-gas-emissions4 “Leather: Harmless By-Product or Crucial Profit Component?” Material Innovation Initiative, https://materialinnovation.org/leather-harmless-byproduct-or-crucial-profit-component/ “The Carbon Cost of Leather Goods.” Collective Fashion Justice, https://www.collectivefashionjustice.org/articles/carbon-cost-leather-goods Ritchie, Hannah, and Max Roser. “Environmental Impacts of Food Production.” Our World in Data, https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impacts-of-food “Does Leather, Cashmere, and Wool Cause Fashion Methane?” Trellis, https://trellis.net/article/leather-cashmere-wool-cause-fashion-methane/ “Environmental Impact of the Leather Industry.” Deutsche Welle, https://www.dw.com/en/environmental-impact-of-the-leather-industry/video-48936651 “Ethical Fashion: Leather.” The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/aug/27/ethicalfashion.leather Franck, Thomas. “How the Fossil Fuel Industry Is Pushing Plastics on the World.” CNBC, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/29/how-the-fossil-fuel-industry-is-pushing-plastics-on-the-world-.html “Mirum Vegan Bags, Shoes, and Accessories.” Immaculate Vegan, https://immaculatevegan.com/collections/mirum-vegan-bags-shoes-accessories Tonti, Lucianne. “Plant or Plastic? How to Decode Vegan Leather Alternatives.” The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/mar/01/plant-or-plastic-how-to-decode-vegan-leather-alternatives Brands mentioned: AppleSkin: https://moea.io/pages/appleskin Reishi: https://www.mycoworks.com/blog/reishi-mycelium-material Wine leather: https://www.vegeacompany.com/sustainability/ Pinatex: https://www.ananas-anam.com/ Desserto: https://desserto.com.mx/e-lca Mirum: https://nfw.earth/mirum found via: https://immaculatevegan.com/ 🌴🌿 Support my Patreon and find exclusive content: https://www.patreon.com/Gittemary ORDER MY BOOK, SUSTAINABLE BADASS, HERE: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sustainable-badass-gittemarie-johansen/1140199307 BUY THE DANISH BOOK, BÆREDYGTIG BADASS, HERE:https://muusmann-forlag.dk/baeredygtig-badass/ BUY MY DANISH COOKBOOK, BÆREDYGTIG GOURMET, HERE: https://muusmann-forlag.dk/baeredygtig-gourmet/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 🌿MY BOOK (ENG): https://mango.bz/books/sustainable-badass-by-gittemarie-johansen-2150-b 🌿MY BOOK (DK) - https://muusmann-forlag.dk/baeredygtig-badass/ 🌿MY BLOG - http://www.gittemary.com/ 🌿INSTA - http://www.instagram.com/Gittemary 🌿FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/Gittemary 🌿 MY ONLINE SUSTAINABILITY COURSE: https://ioa.pxf.io/c/2607789/955476/12764 For business contacts and miscellaneous awesomeness: Gittemary@outlook.dk