Ethical fashion: easy saying green!

Easy saying green! More and more often a lot of fashion big brands make sustainability a pillar of their communication. Just talking about sustainability, ethical fashion, eco-friendly fashion by hiding a company behind a greenwashing communication strategy it’s easy, to do something really environmentally friendly is not. Paying attention to the terminology is the first step to defend ourselves from a deceptive communication.

Ethical fashion and misleading communication

Most people are surely familiar with eco-leather. How many times did you buy eco-leather clothes thinking to do something good for the planet? Actually eco-leather production, even if it has animal origin, has a low environmental impact. However, maybe you don’t know that a lot of fashion companies use this word to indicate PVC leather, a plastic and polluting material that is not recyclable or to indicate polyurethane (PU) , a recyclable material that is anyway carcinogenic.

Let’s discover the differences together:

Eco-leather:

What is it: Eco leather is not a plastic material! It’s a valid alternative to real leather because it has a low environmental impact but it has animal origin and so it’s real leather. Because of the strict standards of ethical fashion its price is equal or higher than real leather.

Environmental impact: it has a low environmental impact because its production must meet international standards and it’s regulated by an international law

Faux leather/pleather:

What is it : it’s a plastic and synthetic material composed of PVC or polyurethane (PU) and it’s harmful to the environment or to the health. For this reason its price is lower than real leather. Maybe you don’t know that sometimes also natural fibers are coated with this substance becoming non-recyclable

Environmental impact: very high. It’s about plastic material. In particular, PVC is a synthetic material composed of plastic polymers and it’s difficult to dispose of. Polyurethane is instead a plastic derivate that is harmful because of the solvent used to make it liquid.

Regenerated leather:

What is it: regenerated leatheris a genuine leather waste of vegetal tanning, which form about 70% of the end product. It is produced with a highly sophisticated process because all wastes are selected, prepared and defibrated. It is composed of genuine leather fibers tanned with vegetal substances, natural latex (extracted from rubber plants), water, natural fats, natural coloring agents and salts.

Environmental impact: Environmental impact: it is entirely made of natural and regrowing raw materials and its production doesn’t require the culling of other animals. A totally sustainable choice for us and for the planet!