Also to note? Those farms where they target product is leather, like the alligator farms? They produce the by-product of meat. The corpus material of animals is valuable and in general is never wasted.
When buying leather, there’s a tier list of ‘how environmentally harmful is this’ and it’s important to note that even the worst ways of commercially tanning leather are less harmful than the plastic manufacturing process. But if you have the option to choose:
Brain tan is the best of the best and basically impossible to find because it’s a labor intensive process. But there is no better way to make soft, durable leather goods that will last for generations.
Biotan/Freetan/Chrome-free tanning, if you can find it, is next best - it’s kind of commercial brain tanning where the tanning agents used are various animal and plant extracts.
Veg tanning is where we get the word 'tannin’ from, and is a very ancient method right up there with brain tanning. It uses plant extracts exclusively and produces rugged, durable leather - not as soft as brain-tanned leather, which is more suited to garmets - it’s good for bags/shoes/straps/saddles/etc.
Chrome tanning is the commonest in industrial tanning and the least environmentally friendly - The process uses trivalent chromium (Cr III) which in small amounts is entirely safe (it’s in your multivitamin!) but in industrial amounts can damage watersheds and soil biomes. The process is also fairly water-use intensive. This is the process that makes the 'new leather’ smell that you’ll experience in a new car interior with real leather, or a lather jacket store. But even this, the least sustainable leather making practice, is WAY less environmentally impactful than the process of making plastic 'leather alternatives’
Leather is an excellent product that will biodegrade within a few years if exposed to the elements but will, if stored in a cool dry place with limited light and oxygen exposure, last for LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF YEARS.
