Did you know that eco-leather is actually leather? It is commonly mistaken for fake leather, synthetic fabrics made of polymers, in other words, plastics. Far from it, the term eco-leather actually indicates hide or leather (the official bulletin has recently published the new regulations governing the use of these terms) treated and tanned to have low environmental impact. It is a new standard that is gaining ground and which involves the use in tanning of products and materials that pollute the environment to the least possible extent. Productions that meet the requirements of standard UNI 11427:2011 Leather – Criteria defining the performance characteristics of leather with a low environmental impact, can be referred to as eco-leather. Synonyms are ecological leather, leather with reduced environmental impact.
The misunderstanding is probably generated by the fact that often on the market some operators use wrongly the term eco-leather to refer to synthetic fabrics. Instead, in contrast to what is generally believed, real eco-leather, the actual leather complying to standards, is actually a valuable product, normally more expensive than leather tanned using traditional methods, because of its particularly rigorous production technique compared to that using chemical products.
Beware of those offering you leather bags at 20 Euros! It is nothing more than pure plastic. Yes, but how do you recognise genuine leather to avoid making a mistake? An invaluable guidebook shall shortly be available on our website to make sure you know what you are buying.
Click here for the video interview to Giovanni Adamo, who explains the use of the term Ecopelle