Vegetable-Tanned Leather - What is it excactly?

Vegetable-Tanned Leather - What is it excactly?

Vegetable-tanned leather is a leather produced with tanning agents from vegetable origins, with extracts from tree bark, fruits or leaves that transform animal skin into a more durable material with several attractive properties. 

New formulations have been emerging by using grapes, olive leaves and other vegetable sources. This process enables the production of a firm, highly abrasion-resistant leather with proper hypoallergenic and technical properties. These also demonstrate antibacterial benefits, are breathable and have a good absorption capacity and humidity release.

Based on the craftsmanship and careful use of traditional techniques developed over centuries, the vegetable tanning process results in leather with a distinct appearance and unmatched durability.  One of the best features of vegetable-tanned leather is that it develops a patina over time with prolonged use and exposure to the environment.  Due to the gentle processes involving several weeks of treatment, the vegetable-tanned leather has a much longer life than chrome-tanned leather. It is breathable and products such as shoes made with it get more comfortable the longer you use them.

Vegetable-tanned leather also has a distinctively sweet, woody fragrance that is normally associated with leather. Each piece made with this leather has unique shades and nuances, which are a mark of genuineness. The lack of consistency in color and tone is not a defect. Instead, it’s a characteristic of natural tanning processes.