Leather Production
Leather is one of the most common and accepted fabrics in today’s society, particularly as it is glamorised and associated with luxury and quality. Just like fur, leather is the skin of an animal – in this instance, a cow, calf, buffalo, pig, goat, sheep, crocodile, lizard, snake, stingray, emu, deer, fish, kangaroo, horse, or even elephant, cat, or dog – that has undergone a range of intense chemical processes to turn it into a sturdy material.
The Industry
Despite the common belief that leather is a by-products of the meat industry, the demand exceeds production, and as a result, it operates as a separate industry responsible for the slaughter of approximately 2.29 billion animals across the globe annually [1]. This means that while animals used for leather and suede are killed in Australia, skins and products are also imported from other countries as well. Some of the global leaders in leather production are China, Brazil, Russia, India, and Brazil [2].
Demand
The demand for leather comes in all shapes and sizes, from clothing items such as jackets, belts, denim labels, and shoes to accessories like handbags, watchbands, phone cases, and wallets to household items like sofas, and the upholstery of cars. It surrounds us all and, until recently, was often unavoidable.
Standards and Welfare Issues
As majority of the leather is imported, the animal welfare standards and issues vary in producing each country. Below provides a brief summary of the standards, welfare issues, and the findings of some undercover investigations.
Farms
Cattle, and calves, buffalo, sheep, goats, pigs, alligators, crocodiles, ostriches, emus, snakes, horses, dogs, and cats are commonly farmed for their skin. While each species has a range of welfare issues and different standards, all are denied their natural behaviours in some way.
There are currently 13 crocodile farms across Northern Australia, accounting for 60% of the global trade in crocodile skins. While our standards state the animals must be given clean water, they are still forced to live in unnaturally confined conditions [3]. Additionally, a new plan has been proposed in the Northern Territory to build Australia's biggest crocodile farm, which would imprison up to 50,000 saltwater crocodiles at a time [4].
Chinese Burmese python farm
Credit: Daniel Natusch
Undercover Investigation: Alligator and Crocodile Farming
A PETA investigation conducted in Texas and Zimbabwe found that alligators and crocodiles are forced to live in concrete pits with dirty pools of water, where they can barely move [5]. The same was documented in Vietnam [6]. Farms can have up to 100,000 alligators or crocodiles living on top of each other in confinement [7]. Like all animals, crocodiles and alligators suffer from injuries, severe stress, and insanity due to the unnatural living conditions.
Hunting
Wild animals, such kangaroos, stingray, sharks, deer, fish, and elephants are not farmed for their skins, but can be caught, trapped, and killed – in many cases, illegally [8]. Hunted animals are subjected to prolonged suffering if caught and left for days, or are shot (sometimes several times) by an inexperienced hunter with poor aim.
To learn more about kangaroo hunting in Australia, read our article on Controlling Wildlife.
Transportation
Farmed animals endure the additional stress of transportation. The time spent travelling varies for each country. In Australia, some animals can be on transport trucks for 36 hours straight [9].
While the slaughter of a cow is forbidden in many areas of India, their industry still accounts for around 12.9% of the global production [10].
Credit: Animal Liberation QLD
Undercover Investigation: Transportation of Cattle
A PETA investigation revealed that cows are forced to travel thousands of kilometres to areas where they can be killed. A hole is punctured into their sensitive noses and a rope is passed through, allowing the workers to control the herd. As they march to their death, cattle collapse from hunger, exhaustion, injury, and desperation. Handlers have been noted to break the cow’s tails to force them to comply. Others rub chilli, salt, and tobacco into their eyes to keep them awake and moving [11].
Credit: PETA
Slaughter
All animals used for their skin are prematurely killed. Some dairy cows and ewes are killed while pregnant, as the leather produced by the unborn calf or lamb – known as slink or slunk leather - is considered “softer” and can be deemed a higher quality [12, 13]. In most cases, alligators and crocodiles, who can live for 60 years, are killed before between 1-3 years old [14]; pigs are killed at 6-months old [15]; and cattle at 18 months.
Like on fur farms, animals across the globe are commonly rendered unconscious by being electrically or mechanically stunned, beaten with mallets, axes, or poles, having their throats slit and are left to bleed out, or are gassed. Disturbingly, snakes are commonly nailed to trees and skinned alive from one end to the other [16].
Cow about to be killed.
Credit: Tras los muros
Other Issues
As with fur, there are currently no requirements to label the species of a leather product, making it extremely difficult, and most often impossible, to decipher what country the leather came from or which species it has come from. Regardless of the species, however, all animals value their life.
Environmental impacts
Leather is often marketed as a more environmentally friendly option in comparison to faux items – but is this really true?
In addition to causing the suffering and death of billions of animals every single year, the production of these materials contributes to the destruction of land, resource use, waste production and pollution, chemical pollution, and a loss of biodiversity. Despite what we consumers are made to believe, there is nothing “natural” about heavily processed clothing made from an animal’s skin (or fur, or feathers).
Resources, Land Clearing, and Biodiversity Loss
Animals used for all types of materials require immense quantities of land, food, water, and energy. When looking at resources used to raise the animals, we also have to look at the resources used to grow, transport, and process their food. Animal agriculture (and their feed) is utilising 50% of habitable land. In comparison, urban and built-up land makes up just 1% [17]! Land clearing and grazing animals (predominantly cows, sheep, and goats), leads to soil compaction, increases soil salinity and erosion, and causes a decrease in biodiversity [18]. For most animals, water is also used during the slaughter process and additionally for the processing of their skins, fur, wool, and feathers.
Credit: ACT Sustainably
Waste, Pollution, and Chemical Use
In addition to being resource-intensive, any form of animal farming is responsible for waste production and pollution. Waste comes in the form of animal manure, dropped food, as well as unused body parts after processing [19, 20]. We also have to factor in the production of their food, transportation, electricity for housing, slaughter facilities, and waste from the slaughter process. Farming animals and their feed also requires the use of pesticides, vaccines, and antibiotics, which pollute the environment and can create antibiotic-resistant disease [21]. Material items also have the added issue of chemical use during the processing phase, and thus contributes to chemical pollution. This is because after an animal has been slaughtered, their skin must be treated with toxic chemicals to prevent it from rotting and decomposing [22].
The tannery industry is listed as the most polluting activity due to the wide type of chemicals applied during the conversion of animal skins into leather [23]. Every year, over 4 million tonnes of solid waste is generated by the global leather industry. The leather tanning stage involves soaking the animal skin in a liquid containing tannic acid and other chemicals, to permanently alter the protein structure of the skin, preventing it from breaking down. Approximately 90% of these factories use chromium, which is extremely harmful to the environment. Other chemicals include chlorine, cadmium, nickel, zinc, lead, formaldehyde, coal-tar derivatives, mineral salts, and various oils, dyes, and finishes, some of which are cyanide-based. Cyanide is an extremely toxic chemical that can result in cause death [24, 25]. A study found that 500kg of rawhide only produces 75kg of leather, and the rest is considered waste. As this waste breaks down, it releases methane gas into the atmosphere [26]. One common misconception is the belief that leather is natural and biodegradable or eco-friendly, however, the tanning process actually stops the leather from biodegrading by stabilising the collagen or protein fibres.
Additionally, most tannery operations have been moved to developing nations, where there are extremely poor environmental protection standards. As a result, the toxic waste water is commonly dumped into rivers and lakes that are used by the locals. This pollution not only rids lakes and rivers of all natural life, but also poses serious health risks to any human or animal that comes into contact with them.
Kanpur has become one of the most valued cities in India as it is the biggest producer of leather. The city’s leather is exported to western markets including those in the US, UK and Germany. Unfortunately, Kanpur has also become notorious for having some of the country’s worst water pollution as a result of the tannery industry. This water is then used by local people and is channelled onto farmland, consequently poisoning the soil, entering the food chain and accumulating in local ecosystems. This poses extreme health risks to the tannery workers and farmers who handle toxic water on a daily basis [27].
Tannery facility in India
Health Impacts
Farming animals for their fur, skin, wool, and feathers not only affects the animals and the environment, it also impacts humans.
Slaughterhouse workers
Mental Illness
Working in a slaughterhouse has proven to cause severe mental illnesses due to the harsh environment they work in. Workers are expected to kill hundreds to thousands of animals every hour, at high speeds in cold conditions, doing the exact same thing over and over again, with very few breaks. Studies conducted all over the world have found that workers are associated with high levels of anxiety, anger, hostility and psychoticism. They also can suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, Perpetration-Induced Traumatic Stress (PITS), and violent dreams, with many workers seeking treatment similar to that used to help war veterans [28, 29, 30, 31]. Symptoms of PITS include depression, paranoia, panic and dissociation [32].
Physical Issues
The intense noise in the slaughterhouse can result in noise-induced hearing loss [33]. Due to the processing of meat, extreme temperatures are needed, and this greatly increases the risks of frostbite and hypothermia [34]. Workers also commonly suffer from upper limb work-related musculoskeletal disorders [35]. Exposure to harsh chemicals and bacteria, viruses, fungi and ectoparasites can cause serious diseases [36].
Processing Plant Workers
Those who work with leather, wool, and fur are exposed to the toxic chemicals which cause serious skin conditions, tuberculosis, blindness, gastrointestinal issues. Children are also being born with severe mental and physical disabilities [37]. Studies have found that 90% of tannery workers in these areas die before they are 50 due to chemical exposure and equipment accidents [38]. Disturbingly, slave labour is also common with many workers being children as young as five. Studies have found that they are already infected with deadly diseases and commonly suffer from burns, intoxication, fumigation, fractures and amputations, and vision impairment [39, 40, 41].
Children working in a tannery in India.
Credit: The Guardian
People Living Near Factories/Farms
A study in Kentucky found that the incidence of leukemia among people living in an area surrounding a tannery was five times the national average [42]. Arsenic, a common tannery chemical, has long been associated with lung cancer in workers who handle the chemical regularly [43]. In Sweden and Italy, the cancer risks were up to 50% higher than expected [44]. Several studies have found links between sinus and lung cancers and the chromium used in the tanning process. A report on the health impacts of tanneries found that the health of 3.5 million people in Ranipet, India, has been jeopardized by a factory that produces the salts used in nearby tanneries. The groundwater and land had been contaminated from waste runoff and farmers who came in contact with the water suffered from skin ulcerations [45].
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US has previously fined six fur processing plants for causing high levels of pollution and for using solvents in fur dressing that “may cause respiratory problems, and are listed as possible carcinogens” [46, 47].
Consumers
As a consumer, you too can still be impacted. Studies have shown that even finished leather products, especially those that directly touch the skin, including gloves and shoes, contain high levels of a toxic chemical called chromium. This chemical is considered to be a strong allergen that can lead to skin reactions such as eczema. A German study found the substance in over half of the leather products it inspected [48].
Dog trapped to be killed in China.
Credit: Unknown
What’s Next
“Cruelty is a fashion statement we can all do without”.
Rue McClanahan
It is important for us as consumers to work together and change our collective demands to the more ethical, environmentally friendly, and people-friendly alternatives that are becoming available. Thankfully, we no longer need to use leather for our common goods, as alternatives are available in abundance. Not only are these alternatives saving the lives of animals, but can also lower our environmental footprint and save human lives!