{"id":21458,"date":"2026-07-15T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/sustainability\/?p=21458"},"modified":"2026-06-18T10:17:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T09:17:15","slug":"the-truth-behind-leather-jackets-and-wool-jumpers-how-do-these-industries-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/sustainability\/the-truth-behind-leather-jackets-and-wool-jumpers-how-do-these-industries-work\/","title":{"rendered":"The Truth Behind Leather Jackets and Wool Jumpers: How Do These Industries Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Throughout my life I have been under the impression that real leather goods are the evilest things you could ever own, and buying these is a crime against the animals. How dare you kill a cow so that you can have a handbag. Contrastingly, this logic never seemed to apply to beef consumption however, where in the UK, around 75% of Brits eat meat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a recent SGO meeting, someone mentioned that the meat consumption rates are so much higher than the leather consumption rates, that it is actually worse to not use the leather. This statement seemed to counteract the commonly pushed narrative that leather is the problem, and so I set out to find out more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does the leather industry work?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Leather is a by-product of the food industry, meaning the animals are not killed for the skins, but for meat consumption. 99% of leather globally comes from animals killed for meat. The meat production industry is massive, and as a by-product of this, 11.6 million tonnes of hides and skins are produced yearly. Around 40% of these are disposed of yearly as waste, demonstrating the disparity between the demand for meat, and the demand for leather. This waste is sent to landfills or burnt, where it emits greenhouse gases. This suggests that not using the leather by-product is therefore more environmentally harmful, as it creates waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leather products overall last much longer than their faux leather counterparts. Synthetic and vegan leather alternatives are usually made from fossil fuel derived plastics, which are not biodegradable. These products also have much less reuse and recycling potential and are replaced more frequently. On the other hand, the real leather boots or a coat can last a lifetime, resulting in a lower environmental impact and a slower consumption of products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

20% of leather is bought by the auto industry, and this is the world\u2019s largest use for Brazilian leather. However, South American cattle ranching is known to be the most environmentally damaging. 80% of deforestation worldwide is caused by cattle ranching, and in the Amazon rainforest, this has resulted in a loss of biodiversity, increased risk of forest fires, and soil erosion. Essentially, the area with the most harmful cattle farming practices, is also the area that reduces the waste of leather the most, summarising the complexities of the relationship between meat and leather production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image description: sheep and a cow walking across the road.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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From sheep to SHEIN<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But if the leather industry is so environmentally complex, what about other animal by-products?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Britain, wool has historically been a very important material, used both for clothing and insulation. In the 1960s and 70s, knitting was a standard practice for women for making clothing and income, and in many coastal communities men could also knit. However, the rising marketability of synthetic fibres from the 1950s onwards dramatically changed the clothing industry, and by the 1980s, wool, and other natural fibres, were replaced by these new synthetic fabrics. These were derived from oils but were much cheaper and quicker to produce, fuelling the fast fashion industry. However, synthetic fibres in clothing are one of the two main sources of micro-plastics entering water and food chains. For example, washing a synthetic fleece releases 1.7 grams of microfibre waste into the water, 60% of which ends up in sewage at waste treatment plants which is spread on food-producing crop lands. The other 40% goes into the ocean and is consumed by fish which we eat. Furthermore, the manufacturing of these synthetic fibres in the fashion industry accounts for more CO2 emissions than all international flights and maritime shipping combined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, as well as synthetic fabrics causing environmental harm, their rise in popularity also resulted in an increase in mass lamb slaughter. British sheep farmers are paid very little, meaning sheep shearing costs are not covered. One sheep skin, which would provide both wool and leather, is only worth 10p, meaning it usually becomes a waste product of the meat industry, like with cattle. These days, sheep are only sheered for welfare reasons, to stop them getting too hot in summer and to reduce the risk of fly strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food consumption has also impacted the industry; supermarkets want lamb, not hogget or mutton, so sheep are killed before they would reach a point where they could be sheered for wool to save money. This financial struggle is further exacerbated due to the slaughtering pressure. Sheep slaughtered over a year old, known as \u2018splitters\u2019 have to have their spinal cords removed to avoid the risk of BSE, increasing abattoir costs. Due to the UK\u2019 s historic reliance on wool production for national wealth, to make up for wool\u2019s sudden loss in monetary value, farmers increased the size of their herds and now slaughter lambs much earlier on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image description: leather boots sitting on a wool jumper<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Back to basics?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wool is finding a new purpose, being used as insulation due to it being fire-retardant and non-toxic if it does burn, as well as being used in duvets and furniture. Wool festivals are becoming more popular, and new practices are being developed in Australia to farm wool as part of regenerative farming techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leather, and wool, become waste products of the meat industry if not used as material products, and so as long as the demand for meat remains this high, it makes more sense from a sustainable point of view to use these products, despite their declining popularity within the mainstream. They are more durable, release less microplastics into water systems, and are produced as by-products that could support the economy. So, is it worth returning back to these traditional materials, and moving away from newer, synthetic-based fabrics?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maddie also wrote a blog looking at leather production for Doc Martens (check that out here<\/a>), where she weighs up the pros and cons of real and synthetic leather, which definitely worth reading if you want to learn more about this debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Emilia Holllingdale, SGO Projects Officer<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out the sources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n