Vegan Leather? WTF

So I’m just venting,

I just had an o shit moment with a customer that I’ve been working with for a few weeks now. We have a project where I’m doing some high end leather bags and leather wrapped notebooks. In the initial request for quote, they specified Veg Leather. So I made sure all my vendors where using Veg Tanned Leather.

So I sent out a prototype and the customer was over whelmed with the quality of the product. They went on and on about it to a point that I had to ask how bad where the other options they received. They explained that all the other samples from other suppliers where hard and had a plastic like look. I responded well it sounds like you are getting imitation leather.

A VERY LOUD SILENCE CAME OVER THE PHONE.

Customer: Are these Prototypes VEGAN LEATHER?
Me: There is no such thing as Vegan Leather, they are Veg Tanned Leather and American sourced leather at that.
Customer: Oh no this will never work. We do not support cruelty to animals and can not have this aligned with our brand.

The rest of the call was me back pedaling and trying to save the sell.

So for those that don’t know, Vegan Leather is Artificial Leather. When people specify Veg. Leather, make sure you ask you mean Veg Tanned Leather correct?

Now excuse me as I get a drink.

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You could always use the hide of a full-grown, bull nauga. You know: Naugahyde.

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ROFL!

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I heard at one point there was a scam with “Genuine Leather.” Some company trade marked the phase and then sold pleather under the trade mark of “Genuine Leather.” I don’t have the time to find the story, just something I remember from my childhood.

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in another language it’s called cardboard.

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Vegan Leather is not a thing, and pretending that it is, is stupid. If you want certain properties of leather, you can get it in a vegan product, like heavy canvas approaches the durability of leather or PVC products are stain resistant and can look (kind of) like leather. I once bought a urethane belt (note that vegans often tout urethane as a viable substitute for leather in belts), and within a few weeks it had stretched to the point of being useless. I find it increasingly difficult to find quality leather products (that I can get my hands on before buying). I can’t imagine anything artificial that has all the qualities of leather for an obtainable price. I don’t see why using leather for durable goods should be a problem. It lasts long enough that it should be a non-issue.

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Isn’t vegan leather where a special process is used to take the skin off but not kill the cow? It’s very humane that way, I would think. Hopefully that will satisfy your customer.

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Can’t be Vegan and use animal products - it’s as simple as that.

If they truly wanted to reduce “animal suffering,” they could start by asking their elected representatives to work to get rid of corn subsidies, since excess corn → cheap corn-based cattle feed → cheaper cows → cheaper meat → more leather on the market.

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LOL, your more worked up on this than I am and you didn’t lose a $12K sale over it.

Look at it this way - you didn’t lose a $12k sale, you saved yourself from working with people who don’t even know what they want to buy!

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https://www.google.com/search?q=leather+definition

…makes “vegan leather” the very definition of false advertising.

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Reminds me of the “Made in USA”(Usa, Japan) that allegedly happened back when I was as yoot…

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This describes nearly all my customer.

To be honest, this situation was a failing on my part. I understood Veg Leather as Veg Tanned Leather rather than asking as to “why they were being so specific?” I was the only vendor that offered a real leather product because of this mistake. Everyone else had to of either asked or more likely were only selling shitty cheap options.

Either way, I hope they give me another chance to submit an new bid. As I do have a vendor that does luxury artificial leather options. And I managed to get them over the phone to understand that they need to raise their price point to get the quality that they want to associate their brand with.

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Oh. By the way. Currently, many car companies today are selling ‘leatherette’ as their “upgrade” interior (from cloth). It’s vinyl. And shitty. But boyoboy are people eating it up.
I got no beef with vinyl (see what I did there?) but just call it “vinyl interior”. And I’d happily pay more for decent cloth than vinyl. But I will NOT pay MORE for ‘leatherette’ than cloth…

You’re right. Failure on your part. But I have to say, what kind of dolt writes down LEATHER when they mean NOT LEATHER AT ANY COST! ?

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I get really pissed when I buy something I expect to be durable and it falls apart.

Mostly, though, I feel like vegans take their legitimate concerns about the meat, leather, and fur industries and twist them into a caricature of activism. If you want something vegan, and I think they have some valid concerns, you shouldn’t prop up fashions that encourage people to buy leather. You should buy something that is the best product you can produce without animal products. Synthetics are capable of amazing things these days, but you have to look at your functional requirements to find a quality product. And why stick to traditional if you are trying to make change?

I am all for higher standards of care for animals, but veganism is a waste of resources in my opinion. You can’t re-purpose ranch land for farming, it generally isn’t suitable. And it is very difficult to eat a complete diet without eating animal products. In fact, many vegans are really just people with eating disorders, using their veganism as a cover for never eating in front of others.

Furthermore, most synthetics are produced from oil. What kind of impact does oil production have on wildlife (and people for that matter)? I would imagine it is far worse than a quick death that they didn’t see coming.

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Nothing like rich Corinthian Leather…

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I have an article that will set you off that I read this morning.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/09/holland-agriculture-sustainable-farming/

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Lol travel somewhere with a vegan cuisine scene and learn how misinformed you are.

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Cows are vegan after they grow up. Leather comes from cows. Ergo, wouldn’t all leather be vegan leather? (I know I know)

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I’m not saying it (eating a balanced diet) can’t be done or that most vegans are using their diet as cover for an eating disorder. But they are real things. It is very common for vegans to be deficient in all kinds of things that people take for granted in an omnivorous diet. Cooking vegan takes significantly more work, and it can be difficult to get vegan meals in various situations (holidays, weddings, etc.). Veganism takes work in a culture where eating meat is the norm. I would imagine it would also be difficult where vegetarian diets are common, but dairy products are a staple.

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