Poverty and the Environment

Poverty has universal and devastating effects on our planet. If a country is unstable economically, chances are the people of said country, will turn to unregulated, dangerous and even deadly ways of making money to support their families. When you have unregulated factories all over the world supplying Europe and America with leather goods that come from and are made in unsavory places, you want to mull over some interesting facts about why poverty on the other side of the world would affect the environment and what you can do to help. “Issues about environment, economics and politics are inter-related through the way humans interact with their surroundings and with each other.” Here is an article as to why the environment, economics and politics are one and they should be treated as one issue if we are ever going to tackle the issue of poverty and the environment.

This article is not directly speak about the leather industry, but the reader does not have to stretch the imagination to see why this article should be included in our blog. Unstable economies create nefarious actions.  With demands always increasing for leathers to be produced in bigger supplies, unregulated factories will cut corners to produce their leather fast and dangerous.

http://www.globalissues.org/article/425/poverty-and-the-environment

The price is paid by the environment, the humans who work in sweatshop conditions and of course the animals who are killed for their skins. “The relationship between the rich and poor, and the impacts on the environment go deep. Economics is meant to be about efficient allocation of resources to meet everyone’s needs. However, international power politics and ideologies have continued to influence policies in such a way that decision-making remains concentrated in the hands of a few narrow interests. The result is that the world’s resources are allocated to meet a few people’s wants, not everyone’s needs.”

“Technological solutions, such as more environmentally friendly technologies, while extremely important, do not address underlying political, social and economic causes. Just as doctors highlight the need to prevent illnesses in the first place, and resort to cures when needed, so too do we need to understand these deeper issues in a more holistic manner. The interconnectedness needs more recognition if environmental degradation, poverty and other global problems can begin to be addressed.”

We need to simply make the connection between the environment, economics and politics and work on sustainable solutions that can save our planet, protect the workers all over the world and keep our animals safe. We can this, we just need to find a balance within the confines of our proud attitudes and realize that we have one planet. We can change our habits, and educate everyone we meet. It only takes one person to stand up for what’s right.

Alternatives to using Leather

There are many alternatives to using leather. Whether you are a vegan, a vegetarian or an animal activist, or just a human who is aware of the dangerous chemicals that unfortunately go into making leather…there are many alternatives to using leather. There are also many reasons to use alternatives to leather as well. The toxic chemicals used in the process of making leather not only pollute and destroy the ozone, the soil around the leather making factories, the people who make the leather become sick and cold actually die from the chemicals being used, and the animals who lose their life to make the leather are just a few reasons that we should really take into consider the whole picture with regards to leather making process.

There are several modern surrogates to leather now on the market. Rubber being one major alternative. Recycled rubber tires is a huge business. There is a company in Seattle, Washington called Alchemy Goods http://alchemygoods.com/ that I have personally used to buy my laptop bag, as well as wallet and other accessories. Their motto – “While medieval alchemists sought to turn lead into gold, we strive to turn useless stuff like blown-out inner tubes, old seatbelts and advertising banners into useful stuff like bags and wallets. Another word for this is upcycling. Recycling turns stuff into the same thing over and over again. Upcycling turns something of lesser value into something of greater value.”

I can also say that my work bag is designed and produced right here in Portland. It is made of waxed canvas and it is water resistant, which is most excellent because of all the rain we get here. I would highly recommend using waxed canvas, it ages well, and holds up fantastically.

There are some new methods on the market that I have not tried myself, but I am looking forward to trying them in the future. There is a company called Paper No. 9, http://www.paper-no9.com/#!the-story/c1jbm their motto which is very inspiring is “Paper No. 9’s unique material is inspired by kinkarakawakami, a wall covering developed by 19th century Japanese artisans to mimic gilded leather and displayed in some of the most opulent rooms of Buckingham Palace.

Free of plastics and complex polymers, our innovative textile is natural, non-toxic, and features a texture and appearance unlike any other fabric on the market.

Originally designed for use in fashion and interior design, the material can be used in a wide array of applications. We have produced custom and exclusive colors, textures, and effects for various clients with products ranging from haute couture apparel to stationary to bags and other accessories.

Paper No. 9 has been featured in publications worldwide (Vogue, WWD, Interview, InStyle, WGSN, Drapers, Surface, Pantone, Metropolis, Wallpaper*, Fast Company, and design milk), in showrooms across the globe (Material ConneXion and The Sustainable Angle), and at international textile and fashion shows.

All goods & textiles are made by hand in Brooklyn, New York, USA and are available for customization.”

Paper products are becoming more and more accessible to everyone who would like to avoid using leather. There are more and more new ways of looking at the simple things we take for granted, such as the bag we use for school or work, the less we consume leather products that are made and imported in unregulated factories overseas, the more we promote and inspire others to form to good habits. This will lead us to make our earth and environment much healthier. It will perhaps force the unregulated leather factories overseas to switch gears and move in a more positive direction. This would not only improve our plant but it would also improve the lives and welfare of animals.  Nothing but good could only come from making wise and economically intelligent decisions.

With all of the bad and increasingly incompressible information floating around about leather factories overseas, there are some wonderful alternatives. I highly recommend that we start using rubber and paper replacements, because we only have planet, and we need to protect her and all of the humans and animals that come with her.

Making Leather More Sustainable

Leather Tanneries are Greening Up

                             

Leather production is harmful to animals, workers, and the environment and needs to be abolished. The switch to reducing or abolishing leather is a process that does not happen immediately. Making leather production more sustainable in the meantime is one effective solution to reducing its negative effects. Simona Tanning is a leather manufacturing company in Huizhou, China that has converted their facilities to save water and energy. Some of their clients include Clarks, Keen, Nike, and Timberland.

  Simona Tanning has  is able to help the environment by not using as much fresh water and reduce chemicals that are emitted in the environment. The facility has reduced their fresh water consumption and water discharge by 40% by using a reverse osmosis filter system. They invested in clean energy by installing solar panels that are able to boil 100,000 liters of water, instead of using electricity. Fans were replaced by hydraulic cooling systems that save 35% of energy and 50% of water use. Simona Tanning is an example of the potential there is in reducing some of the harmful effects of leather production.

Companies using leather products should switch to facilities like Simona Tanning to make leather production more sustainable. Leather facilities should also make the conversion to green ways because it is better for the environment and will save them money. Simona Tanning’s solar panels will pay for themselves in 17 months and after that reduce their electricity indefinitely. Facilities will save copious money on water use and electricity by adopting greener ways. Next time you are shoe shopping investing in a pair of Clarks, Keen, Nike, and Timberland shoes will be contributing to sustainable leather.

http://www.treehugger.com/style/3-ways-leather-tanneries-are-greening-up-their-processes.html

http://www.simonatanning.com/about.html

Halting the unregulated Leather Industry

Stopping the leather industry would not be an overnight process. As wonderful as it would be, just from the aspect of saving all the animals that are inhumanely lost to the leather industry, there is, still, yet, another aspect that should be considered. Economics. Economically it would not be feasible. When you have as many countries that are involved in the unregulated leather production industry, you have to look at the big picture. The people who work in the unregulated leather industry are for the most part living hand to mouth and they have families to take into consideration. We are talking about an industry that economically is forecasted to bring in $91.2 billion by 2018. You also have to take into consideration that most all of these unregulated factories do not have any sort of health care for their workers, nor do they have a union, of any sort, to protect them against sweatshop conditions. This of course means horrid conditions for the workers some as young as 7, live work and die in these factories.

The billions of dollars flooding the unregulated leather industry, also means, and corners are cut and this affects us all. Ultimately the consumers pay the price for the toxic environment, in and around these factories. In Bangladesh where 90% of the leather produced, go unregulated. Socioeconomically, it would be financially devastating to hundreds of thousands of families around the world who have become dependent on the leather industry as their main source of income. Globally speaking, the leather industries “revenue is forecast to reach $91.2 billion by 2018.”   http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/6p5rsl/global_leather

There is much to take into consideration when considering the elimination of the unregulated, or even the regulated leather industry. The cleanup from the toxic chemicals alone, has already permeated the atmosphere, the soil, and the people, near and around the tanneries- as well as, us, the people who purchase leather goods. We, on the receiving end, must take into consideration the contaminants that come with most all of the leather goods we purchase. Just purchasing leather goods and taking them home, you are exposing yourself to an array of toxic chemicals. This means that there is zero financial motivation factory owners to clean up their working environments. Ultimately the cleanup is guesstimated into the billions of dollars whether we are speaking of India, Bangladesh, Africa or South America. 

I found it completely fascinating that Germany’s largest leather production company recently closed because they were only able to keep their current waste-water purity at 95%, they were not able to meet the  to 98% required by legislation in Germany for proper environmental standards.. The German company could not afford to rebuild their plant, to meet the requirement of 98% water purity. 98% is an amazingly clean and green number for water purity. I can’t even begin to fathom what the unregulated

% rate of waste-water purity would be in India, Africa or Bangladesh. There is of course an overwhelming need to save the animals around the world and protect them from the inhumane conditions of the unregulated and regulated leather industry, but there should also be a sense of urgency regarding the plight of the people who are often times forced into horrible working conditions. People who are barely able to survive. We must put the people first, in this case. 

In Bangladesh, for example, the maximum a family can hope to earn is a most a “minimum wage of about $39 a month.” http://www.thestar.com/news/world/clothesonyourback/2013/10/12/bangladeshs_tanneries_make_the_sweatshops_look_good.html

And $39 is keeping a family of 5 in a hand to mouth situation regarding their living conditions. They do not have medical insurance of any kind, they do not have access to clean or even regulated working conditions. Children as young as 7 or sometimes younger must work to sustain a family.

This information can be overwhelmingly negative. There is a light at the end of tunnel. Due to laws and regulations, people are becoming much more socially conscious of the environment. Due to technology and open source information people have access to much more information than they did 20 years ago. We can start to learn positive disciplinary tactics that would not only help those who work directly in the industry; it would be most beneficial to mention more ethical for our planet. 

We the people must find leaders in our present political system who can change the unregulated and horrid conditions globally, in and around the leather industry. A professor of Cognition writes, ““Perhaps, indeed, there are no truly universal ethics: or to put it more precisely, the ways in which ethical principles are interpreted will inevitably differ across cultures and eras. Yet, these differences arise chiefly at the margins. All known societies embrace the virtues of truthfulness, integrity, loyalty, fairness; none explicitly endorse falsehood, dishonesty, disloyalty, gross inequity.” Howard Gardner.

We can, indeed, develop habits that can change the world. We must get our message for change, in- and around the World Wide Web. We can be the change that helps somebody, 5 thousand miles away, step up and out of, and the horrid conditions they are forced into. We can stop the insanity of the incomprehensible and inhumane conditions of the animals. We need to change, not just our minds, our habits and our daily routine but change the minds of the people around us. Push our leaders to focus on the unregulated leather industry so we can set global environmental standards. Our leaders could also help push those unregulated factories into regulated ones that will happily meet the safety and environmental standards. Of course financial motivations are key to changing the current unregulated systems. Pushing for change means we must lead by example. The ending of an animal’s life is just the beginning of a long and toxic story that starts in inhumane and horrid working conditions.

The light at the end of the tunnel is us. People who are informed and take the time to spread the word. Education, forming good habits, being informed and knowing the history behind the objects you purchase can all lead to informed decisions. We have the power. We have the internet, and we have each other.

In conclusion, the standards are changing and getting better, and in order to keep these changes moving in a positive direction for the sake of the people, and the animals, we need to keep educating everyone around us. Change will come in a massive and incredibly positive way. We may even end our love affair with leather and move onto more ethical materials. Until then though, we need to keep speaking, writing, and provoking positive thought. We can do this.

Making the Leather Industry Less Hazardous

The leather industry has a few options available regarding their safety regulations and production. The tanneries could produce vegetable tanned leather as opposed to the incredibly toxic and often unregulated production strategies that are currently being used, all over the world. Then there is the option of using Vegan leather as well. This may sound like a brilliant idea, however, unless you have billions of dollars to create a modern new factory, with all safety concerns addressed and regulated, this is not an economically feasible idea for the current people working and living in extremely poor conditions all over the world.

Vegetable tanning is the most ecofriendly way of tanning leather because it involves no chemicals. It relies on time though, which in the fast paced world of the leather industry, time is not always on the side of the unregulated companies or their workers. “Vegetable tanning is an astonishing process based on the use of natural tannins, using modern technologies and machinery but mainly it relies on the slow passage of time.” http://www.billamberg.com/vegetable-tanned-leather-need-to-know/

Faux or Vegan leather is actually not as ecofriendly as most would think. “Leather has been criticized due to the use of chemicals in its tanning process and air pollution caused during dehairing and deliming. However, it is more biodegradable than polyurethane.”

“Polyurethane is chemical inert, and no exposure limits have been established by OSHA. However, it is combustible, and burning can produce harmful carbon monoxide. It is also not biodegradable.” http://www.diffen.com/difference/Leather_vs_Polyurethane

This also, again, begs the issue of safety issues for the people working and creating faux leather. Of course this does not dismiss the issue of using animal leather, which in unregulated factories and still yet, as I mentioned before, even in regulated situations can be highly unethical. 

Again these are two ways of helping the leather industry move in a more ethical direction, however, the issue of the worker is often not addressed in either of these two processes. In all the negativity regarding the leather industry, the rights of the workers is often overshadowed by the idea of harming animals. 

Animals are one the earth’s most precious commodities, and so are human beings. Humans help each other sustain life. With this being said, it should be noted that humans just as animals are exploited in ways that should be incomprehensible. Both should be treated equally for their value on this planet. 

There must be global considerations with regard to both humans and animals. Habits, persistence, education and changing people minds are core to fixing the leather industries short comings. This will not happen overnight and there are many positive changes that are currently happening all over the globe. When global leaders become inspired to help change the practices in the unregulated leather industry, only then, will new habits be form and stick in ways that will conquer the currently horrendous working conditions and animal abuse that transpires every minute of every day.

In conclusion, the key, as I mentioned above is education, forming good and ethical habits and of course finding global leaders who take this issue seriously, which it is, a very serious issue. Positive reinforcement will initiate positive consistent habits that will then be forged within the leather industry. As positive habits are developed, positive energy will follow. Many of our formed ideals come from the environment we grow up in, and the leather industry cannot be changed overnight, however, time, consistency and the birth of social media is a powerful tool that can change the way people think. The more we read, the more we educate ourselves regarding the global unethical standards of the leather industry, chances are in our favor to actually change the world and make the world a better place for both animals and humans.  

The Leather Working Group

The objective of the Leather Working Group is promoting sustainable and appropriate environmental business practices in the leather industry.  The group works to improve the industry by creating environmental priorities and provide suggested guidelines for improvement; to do this they work with brands, suppliers, retailers, and leading technical experts in the leather industry.  They work by auditing tanneries on their environmental practices.

The Leather Working Group is in its eighth year of operation and is considered to be the most positive pro-active programs by the industry.  They have audited over 20% of the footwear leather supply chain.  These audited tanneries are rated gold, silver, bronze, pass, or fail and are rewarded for good environmental practice; key areas of audits include environmental management systems, water usage, energy consumption, air emissions, effluent treatment and waste management.  These points continuously evolve and recently traceability has been added, meaning the suppliers need to know where their raw materials originated from.  For more information on the Leather Working Group click here or visit their website.

Improvements can be seen in second audits; overall during second audits total scores improved by 18% while energy consumption per unit went down 16% and water usage per unit went down 20%. You can read more about the improvements made by the Leather working Group here.

Members of the group include Adidas, Nike, Ikea, Puma, and many more; these manufacturers source from tanneries that use environmentally friendly methods.

Here’s a look into an “Eco-Friendly” tannery:

Hell Bent for Change

How do you feel about leather? Do you know where it really comes from? Do you think it's a byproduct of the food industry? Do you feel pretty good about that leather jacket, leather belt, leather wallet, leather sofa, the leather key fob that holds the keys to your car that has leather upholstery, and leather trim? Does leather complete you? Do you love its luxurious softness, its protective quality? Do you ever wonder about the animal or how they were treated? What kind of conditions they lived, or died in? 

This video will present to you a truth. Perhaps not the only truth, but you should be aware that Bessie the Cow didn't live a happy life frolicking in a field until she was compassionately put down.

WARNING - This video contains graphic images of animals and humans being abused. All was gathered from the internet under the 'fair use' doctrine, and is presented as a tool to educate and inform. Ecopol, Portland State University, nor any of the students involved in building this website make no claim of ownership to any of the images or music appropriated, or intend to seek monetary compensation from the production of this video compilation.