Q: Can leather sofas be green?
A: Leather may not be the first fabric you envision for an environmentalist’s living room, so why are hide couches turning up in a number of conscientious households? Easy: allergies. Yes, it seems allergy docs are recommending leather sofas as the cleanable, dust-mite-minimizing solution. But while they may be better for your lungs, are they good for the planet?
Furniture and car upholstery just so happens to be the second-largest use of leather in the world after footwear. Now, the question of whether leather can be green is a tough one, because while the factory meat-raising sector is one of the cruellest and most energy-intensive industries around, many would point out that leather itself is a waste product that would otherwise be tossed, so we may as well put it to use.
But you also have to consider where the funds from that leather are going. If they’re supporting cattle ranchers responsible for tearing down the rainforest to make way for more cattle, that leather looks significantly less sensible. In a 2009 investigative report by Greenpeace International called Slaughtering The Amazon, the world’s largest leather supplier, Brazilian cattle giant Bertin, was called out for illegal Amazon-clearing practices.
And guess who was buying from Bertin? Running-shoe giants like Nike, Adidas and Timberland got all the flak in the press, but Bertin’s leather didn’t just go into shoes. Honda, Ford, Walmart, Gucci and, yes, furniture maven Ikea were all caught sourcing the dodgy leather.
The report prompted Timberland, Adidas/Reebok, Nike and Clarks to demand an immediate moratorium on Amazon destruction from its suppliers. Bertin (now owned by JBS) eventually backed the moratorium as well. By 2011, the company’s supposed to be tracing its skins from ranch to slaughterhouse to processing facility to help guarantee its leather isn’t tied to rainforest clearing or slave labour.
Even if your leather no longer comes from illegally cleared rainforests, the industry still uses a lot of horrifyingly toxic tanning and dying chemicals. This is especially true if the processing is done in countries like India and China that have few enviro standards.
At least 80 per cent of the world’s leather is tanned with chromium. Not all forms of chromium are readily toxic, but the Danish EPA tested 43 leather products back in 2001 (including pants, watch bands, gloves and shoes) and found over a third contained the worst kind, hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen made famous by Erin Brockovich.
But even when HC wasn’t detected, a 2009 report by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation found extremely high levels of what’s considered safer trivalent chromium in leather shoes. What’s the problem? When incinerated or dumped in landfills, the org says, the compound can oxidize into the highly toxic hexavalent form. The enviro group suggested that because of that risk, leather products should be designated hazardous waste and be managed accordingly.
The org also happened upon some pretty toxic metals like arsenic, lead and mercury (all used as leather preservatives) in some leather footwear, as well formaldehyde.
And keep in mind that these compounds were found on the surface of the leather, which is why the Danish government has told doctors to take note that the hexavalent chromium found on leather is a contact allergen that can cause rashes.
Speaking of contact allergens, in 2009 the antifungal compound dimethyl fumarate was discovered on leather couches from China sold in the UK after 1,600 consumers reported serious rashes from sitting on their hide chesterfields. The products were recalled. There was no indication they came to Canada, but it’s still enough to make you give leather couches a second thought.
Yes, leather furnishings may be pretty durable and low on dust, but they’re certainly not headache-free. If you’re determined to get leather for your living space, make sure to ask questions about whether it’s chrome-, heavy-metal- and rainforest-free. Eco-safe fabric supplier Q Collection out of the U.S. offers some heavy-metal-free, veggie-dyed leather upholstery for custom jobs, but it’ll cost you an arm and a sofa leg.
Ikea’s leather-upholstered furniture isn’t chrome-free, but it’s free of hexavalent chromium, formaldehyde and other restricted chems. Ikea gets most of its hides from Brazil, and a call to Greenpeace Brazil confirms its Brazilian leather’s in the clear. Much better than being in the clear-cut.
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