VEGETABLE TANNED LEATHER

What is meant by vegetable tanned leather?

When we talk about vegetable tanned leather, we are referring to a raw leather, usually bovine or ovine, which has undergone chemical processing, Tanning, which is characterized by the fact that only substances found in nature are used, such as tree bark or flowers (so-called tannins). The purpose of tanning is to make animal leather (material that can deteriorate and that in its raw state is not usable) It is imputressible and usable for the creation of useful tools and objects to man.

Characteristics of vegetable tanning

Vegetable tanning is one of the oldest methods of tanning hides, which consists in transforming a raw leather of animal origin into a material that resembles the original, using, as chemical reagents, exclusively natural substances (which are found in the bark of some trees) called tannins. From this complex transformation process the so-called “vegetable leather” or “vegetable tanned skin” is born.

Vegetable tanning is a totally natural process that respects the animal and the environment and uses substances found in nature to give unique characteristics to the leather, Moreover, this type of processing takes place without upsetting the leather and without treating it in an aggressive way.

One important thing that we want to emphasize is that all the skin used for this process, comes from sheep and cattle that are in the production of the food chain, no animal is slaughtered for tanning the leather. This means that no animals are killed to benefit the tanning process.

For the reasons listed above, vegetable tanned leather makes it a totally harmless skin for people who suffer from allergies precisely because of the absence of chemical substances to which an individual can be allergic.

In past centuries this type of skin treatment was excessively slow and involved the skins being put into tension with a loom and immersed for 1-3 months in a solution of water and tree bark, which were checked frequently, especially the tanning state. Until the 1960s, vegetable tanning was done in tanks (slow tanning in tanks)in which the skins were immersed in solutions where the tannins were put into different concentrations (in an increasing way) and lasted about 30 days. Today, the so-called fast drum tanning is mainly used which, thanks to the cirgolar movement and the beating, It allows to obtain a more flexible leather and to decrease so much the tanning times that are between 36 and 48 hours.

Why is vegetable tanned leather different and special?

This process for the transformation of raw leather into leather used for the creation of leather objects, is much slower and more complex than chrome tanning, and is made of those who are truly passionate and experienced in this process. Vegetable tanning is done with the use of tannins that come from trees or flowers, which can give the skin a warm and natural color (characteristic of this type of tanning) It ages over time but does not spoil and makes the natural marks of the leather emerge on the surface, enhancing its quality. In this process we can have leather of “natural” color that is from beige to brown, and also colored skin, But it must always be remembered that vegetable tanned leather is distinguishable with the naked eye from chrome tanned leather. The hardening also changes: compared to chrome-tanned leather, the hardening of this leather is more rigid and compact, Although these factors vary and change a lot depending on the vegetables and fats used and their quantities. Everyone has his “recipe”.

Advantages of Vegetable Tanned Skin

The main advantages of vegetable tanned leather are:

• The use of natural substances in the tanning process
• This type of skin has unique and unrepeatable characteristics
• It is suitable for people suffering from allergies
• Has no impact on the environment
• Unique and unmistakable smell
• It is easily customizable with the most varied techniques: engravings, prints, colors etc..
• It achieves high thicknesses, up to 6 millimeters, which other types of tanning cannot achieve
• Greater strength and durability, the skin does not age but improves over time
• It is environmentally friendly
• It is an excellence of the “Made in Italy”
• It has a higher cost than other skin types
• Added value perceived by the end customer

Disadvantages of vegetable tanning:

The main disadvantages, however, are:

• Length and complexity of the processing process
• More expensive raw materials for production
• Cost of the major process
• Hardly standardised
• More limited colour range