This vegetable tanning process, consisting of repeatedly soaking skins in natural tanning solutions is painstakingly slow and complex, and usually takes at minimum of one-two months to finish, requiring the supervision of skilled craftsmen.
It requires skill, patience and care and the tanning process uses no harmful chemicals, unlike its chrome tanned counterpart.Ī yellowish or brownish bitter-tasting organic substance present in some galls, barks, and other plant tissues, consisting of derivatives of gallic acid, used in leather production and ink manufacture. Vegetable tanned leather takes up to two months to develop in a process that is mainly done by hand. Hence, since ancient times, (literally for thousands of years), people have been soaking the skins in natural tannins to dehydrate the leather, which replaces the water molecules and binds with the collagen, preventing the part where the leather goes stiff and inflexible! These vegetable tannin solutions are made up of organic substance present in trees (such as oak, chestnut or mimosa), or a large number of other types of trees and plants.
#The long dark cured leather skin
However when drawing out the the skin might get ruined, as it gets dry and inflexible. The transformation of an animal skin into a piece of leather is primarily achieved by removing water molecules from the collagen of the skin, (which is the protein that the skin consists of). Why is this method so unsustainable and how does it actually compare to the natural method of vegetable tanning? Let's dive in and find out! What exactly is tanning?įirst things first, let’s talk about leather tanning itself, which is in its essence, transforming animal skins into actual leather. What type of leather tanning process is used by your favorite brands might seem like an esoteric and neglectable part your shopping process, and that is also why most brands uses the cheapest and not surprisingly most toxic method of leather tanning available: namely chrome tanning. Vegetable Tanned Leather VS Chrome Tanned Leather