Pole position

Volvo may have misguidedly decided not to use leather in its electric cars, but its offshoot Polestar uses some of the finest available, supplied by Bridge of Weir.

21st August 2024

While Polestar is a new company which specialises solely in electric cars, Bridge of Weir’s association with the automobile industry goes back to 1911 when, according to company legend, its founder Arthur Muirhead sat down with Henry Ford over whisky and struck a deal to supply leather for the seats of the Model T.

The company still supplies Ford and has picked up some other notable motor industry clients over the years including BMW, Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce and Land Rover.

Famous for the sustainability and traceability of its leather Bridge of Weir is always working to improve its practices. It recently opened a £14m ‘super-tannery’ which has cut its energy use by 82% and water use 42%. Just over half of each rawhide weight is reclaimed as energy and converted into steam in a thermal energy plant, which generates heat to be used in production. Any water used is taken from Bridge of Weir’s privately owned loch (Scottish lake). After production it is treated to clean it then used again. Any treated wastewater that is not reused is further treated before re-joining the ecosystem as clean water. It also only uses energy from renewable sources.

Polestar says: “At Polestar, we believe in more sustainable choices. That’s why we offer our customers a choice of traceable, chrome-free, and animal welfare secured Nappa leather, bio-attributed MicroTech vinyl, or animal welfare-certified wool for their Polestar 3 Upholstery.