To answer this question, one should answer another important question, i.e. is leather really eco-friendly? Everyone knows that leather is an animal product (I will not day a by-product because this is still quite controversial); however, how many really know the process by which it is brought to the position where it can be used commercially?

The tanning process is a lengthy and chemical aided process, which produces a great number of toxins in the air. To get the leather in the form that you are using it for bags, jackets or shoes, it has to go through a number of processes that actually tenders it non-biodegradable with the help of highly toxic substances such as formaldehyde, coal tar derivatives, special dyes and oils that are actually cyanide-based. The majority of the high-class leather products are found to be chrome polished, and this chromium is one of the highly hazardous substances than many environmental protection agencies have warned against, and in many instances banned.

The most dramatic factor is that tanneries can easily manage poisoning the water tables with cyanide-based toxins, as a result of which areas around tanneries have been found with a very high incidence of leukemia deaths.

Using leather is extremely cruel to animals as well as against the environment

If the above argument has left you in a dilemma, the next few paragraphs might shock you out of your complacency into a decision. Many people love leather products associating these with affluence and high fashion. They always justify the use of leather saying that this is a direct by-product from the slaughter of animals for meat. Now, if the meat eaters do not care enough to stop the slaughter, what is the actual harm in using the kin of the already dead animal?

However, the equation is not so simple as this. It is true that leather comes from the animals that are killed for meat. It is also true that animals are specially killed for their skins, too. Cows, calves, goats, sheep, lizards, snakes, crocodiles, deers, tigers, ostriches, mink, rabbits, buffaloes, jaguars, panthers, leopards, are but a few from the horribly long list of animals who are decimated particularly for the use of their skin. These animals are deliberately killed only for the use of their skin, many times in too horrible to even imagine conditions.

In the present age, when the majority of the human race acknowledges the importance of respecting other species and nature's master plan, the killing of certain species for their ornamental skin has brought many of them within the brink of extinction. Unfortunately, once a species gets extinct, it kills with it the whole food chain that is directly connected with it thereby mutating the rest of the chain around it - never with good results.

So can leather really be considered a bio-product in the sense of the word? Or can you read between the lines and accept the synthetic alternatives as the actual thing?

There is more to it than meets of the eye

Some people say, "Okay, so let us not use leather. But what is wrong with using wool, down (feathers for pillows), etc. These are not killed, they are used for the products that are and can be obtained while the animal is alive. But are you sure this is so?

The methods of mass shearing is actually a horrendous process where speed of shearing the wool and not safety for the animal are the forefront. As a result, there are many animals that are "nicked" over a large part of their bodies, particularly face and legs. The "nicked: area can be as small as a palm and as bib as five hands across the body. There have been instances where along with the wool; the whole face of the sheep has been razed off. Can there be any more cruelty than this?

Unfortunately, yes. Animals caught for fur are many times killed through electrocution through the anus. Some animals are trapped by snap-jaw metal traps that almost sever their limbs off when it snaps closed. Other times, goaded by the terrible pain and desperate to escape from predators, the animal bites the limb off themselves. Some die horribly out of fear, exhaustion and dehydration or a combination of all before the trapper arrives.

The examples can go on forever. We have down being painfully removed from ducks and geese alive every six weeks from the age of 10 weeks onwards till they are ready to be killed for meet. Insects such as silk worms are boiled alive so the silk thread can be obtained. Spiders too have been experimented with in similar lines to cash on their capability of spinning silk threads that are comparable in strength to steel.

The genes of the spiders have been force-inserted in sheep and goats and other animals specially to get this strain of especially strong fiber which could be used for military and non-military stitching.

We have alternatives - why not use them and become humane today

There are exceptionally good alternatives to leather, which cab breathe better, smell better and last longer; whether this is for your car upholstery, your jacket or coat made of leather or fur cannot beat the actual benefits of the synthetics. There are today, too many alternatives available for all purposes - be it shoes, bags, car furnishings, coats, jackets and you name it, in every shop around you to say that you do not know or you do not have access to the substitutes. The key matter is, whether you are ready to help the environment or you are still working against it.

In the same line of thought, by stopping the use of any leather, fur or wool, or down product you protect the animals that these come from. You are, in your small way, protecting them form harm and torture. You are promoting a more humane way to look at those who share this planet with us. If each one of us adopts this stance, we can change the trend overnight. We can be better. The question is, shall we?

About the Author

I am writer provide my SEO writing services to various commercial and educational websites on a variety of topics ranging from consumer-level to detailed documentation. My numerous articles offer valuable insights and tips coupled with new thoughts & crisp facts based on compelling ideas & research on typically confusing topics. I also have an experience in writing for magazines.