Apr 26, 2017
DEFINITION
Among the various tanning methods, vegetable tanning is the most traditional, the most recognisable, the only one able to give leather its unique characteristics. It combines comfort, appearance, fashion and tradition, uniqueness and versatility of the product.
The vegetable tanning process is based on the use of tannin, the active ingredient responsible for the transformation of the animal hide into a compact and resistant material durable through the years. This natural substance can be found in many different trees and vegetables, in variable concentration according to the different species. These natural tannin extracts make the vegetable-tanned leather unique and easily distinguishable.
Vegetable-tanned leather absorbs the traces of our life, it matures without ruining. The natural ageing does not compromise its resistance. It reveals the signs of time and use as the most personal expression of naturalness and truth. The colours of tannins give the leather an unmistakable warm and brilliant shade that becomes more intense with the passing of time and the daily use.
Choosing a product made of Vegetable-Tanned Leather means choosing a one-of-a-kind object that reflects the owner’s lifestyle.
No leather looks like any other, its peculiar characteristics offer a wide range of possible interpretations in shape and design. Vegetable tanning is a tanning process taking inspiration from nature and – in full harmony – to nature going back.
Vegetable-tanned leather does not contain any toxic substance harmful to man and is highly tolerable for those who suffer from metal related allergies.
The vegetable-tanned leather production cycle is strictly monitored to ensure a low impact on the environment:
No animal is killed for its skin. On the contrary, the raw hides used by our tanneries are the discarded by-products of the food industry producing meat for human consumption.
Being tanned with natural tannins, a vegetable-tanned leather object can be easily disposed of at the end of its life, thanks to its chemical-biological characteristics.
Our tanneries have made huge investments in depuration systems and waste recycling that make them work in full respect of man and the environment.
Many of the substances used during the tanning process are recovered, recycled and reused in different fields. Hair removed from raw hides is transformed into agricultural fertilizer; sludge produced by the depuration plants is reused in the construction field to make bricks.
Vegetable-tanned leather, recognizable from its trademark, does not contain any toxic substance such as azo-dyes, nickel, PCP or chrome VI.