Cattle, goats and sheep are not killed for their skin.

SLAY - A new documentary impressively shows how people and above animals suffer for the fashion industry. Rebecca Cappelli spent three years researching the background of leather, wool and fur production. 

She shows images that disturb, especially in relation to the production of fur. One wonders why this industry has not been eliminated long ago. It is very important to expose such injustices and to educate the consumers. Many will not know that the fur pom-pom on their hat has such an origin and that they support animal cruelty with their purchase decision. But what I regret very much is that some wrong information is spread regarding the leather industry.

One claim that is - unfortunately - often made in the media is that "millions of cattle have to die every year for the leather industry." When in fact this is the amount of cattle that die per year for the food industry. You can think leather is great or bad, but the animals are slaughtered for their meat, not for their skin. This is also confirmed by a report from WWF. The value of a skin is close to zero, a farmer gets nothing for it. This is also supported by the fact that millions of skins are burned every year - because there is no demand. ⁠

The big problem is not the leather industry, but our⁠ hunger for cheap meat, which also leads to this abundance of skins. However, this reality is hardly addressed in the film.⁠

Those who know our story know that the skins of other animals such as goats and sheep are also often disposed of. Processing skins into leather instead of disposing of them only makes sense in our eyes. We process the skins locally, without toxic chemicals, to make natural leather that is durable and biodegradable⁠ - in contrast to the so called "leather alternatives" presented in the film such as "apple leather" or⁠ "cactus leather," which are partly made of fossil fuels. According to our⁠ understanding of sustainability, this is not a good alternative. By giving up a pair of⁠ leather shoes, we will not save the life of any animal.⁠

We would love to have a decent and honest discussion about this topic⁠ and to enable people to make truly sustainable purchasing decisions. So that at⁠ the end of the day, everyone would benefit - people and animals. 🖤⁠