Real Leather. Stay Different. Student Design Competition launches in the Philippines
Competition to promote sustainable leather will run for the first time in art and design schools in the Philippines.
Competition to promote sustainable leather will run for the first time in art and design schools in the Philippines.
Leather is so durable it can live on even beyond its original use. Here’s our guide to repurposing.
If you’re serious about leather crafting, making and cutting patterns is vital for any design.
Almost a quarter of a billion tonnes of plastic is manufactured every year. Considering it takes up to 500 years to biodegrade, it’s a good job we can recycle it, right?
After working with leather for a while, you will come to realise the importance of details. No matter the quality of the leather, if the cutting or stitching or finishing isn’t right, you’ll end up with something shoddy.
In the thousands of years leather has been in use, there has never been a serious contender to rival it for durability. Have any of the new materials offered as alternatives come close?
Chrome tanning is the most widespread and versatile method while veg tanning has been around for thousands of years. Which is your favourite?
Despite vast reductions in water and chemical use, tanners are still looking for ways to make their techniques more sustainable.
Once you’ve crafted your leather design, you may well want to give it some kind of finishing.
The tanning industry is often regarded as one with very high water consumption because historically, it has been. But great strides have been taken to change this, and still many companies are striving to do better.
“People who want to ‘buy green’ should be able to do so, confident that they aren’t being misled,” says Sarah Cardell, interim CEO of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) which is currently investigating fashion brands including Asos and
Sourcing the right leather for your design can be quite intimidating when you first start crafting - so here’s a little bit of guidance.