What is “Upcycling?”
According to Merriam-website.com “Upcycling” is the process of recycling (or reusing) something in such a way to create an object of greater value than the original discarded object.
How Does “Upcycling” relate to leather?
Animals are NOT typically killed to make leather. In the world of modern leather manufacturing, most leather comes from cow hides that are secondary products of the food industry. In fact, LeatherNaturally.org reports that 99% of the hides used for leather come from animals raised for food. As long as people are eating meat, there will be hundreds of millions of leftover cow hides that would go to rot in a landfill if they were not repurposed into some other product. This is where leather creates the perfect solution. Reusing surplus hides is sustainable as it ensures that the skin of the animal does not go to waste. According to LeatherNaturally.org, the leather industry recycles over 270 million cow hides each year. These hides are “upcycled” into beautiful leather that is used to make furniture, shoes, car seating, accessories, apparel, and so much more!
Sources:
Leather Naturally. (n.d.).
https://www.leathernaturally.org/Latest/Featured-Articles/Featured-Articles/Are-animals-killed-for-leather
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Upcycle. Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved on 2022, October 31, from
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/upcycle.
Leather Naturally – Properties of Leather | Leather Naturally | Leather Characteristics. (n.d.). www.leathernaturally.org
https://www.leathernaturally.org/About-Leather/Properties-of-leather.
