THREAD on the impacts of clothing: I’ve seen a lot of blanket assertions that leather is better than synthetic fabric and vice versa. The reality behind these two and ALL materials is really more complicated. 1/11
Each side tends to only point out the merits of their preferred material and the the demerits of the other (as with most issues). In this case, sometimes opposing sides ignore that the two have a number of the same problems! 2/11
Take for instance the issue of fossil fuels in clothing: polyurethane/pleather/polyester are derived directly from fossil fuels. Leather comes from a cow, but its hide would decompose without treating with chemicals. 3/11
Leather preservation and tanning chemicals can be plant-derived, but in reality are predominantly done with syntans, or synthetic (FF-derived) chemicals derived from both petroleum (e.g. phenols) and COAL (e.g. anthracene). 4/11
What's more, both synthetic and plant-derived tanning chemicals contribute substantially to caustic freshwater pollution. Synthetic fabrics have serious waste chemical problems as well. 5/11
Leather proponents also point out that it is a mere byproduct of beef production. This is true, and raw hides only account for a small fraction of the cow and the income it brings in the farmer/company. But plastics are also byproducts of petrol refining. 6/11
Both leather and synthetic fabrics are byproducts of larger industries with massive environmental footprints. But both petroleum and meat production rely on slim profit margins. Less demand for any co-product could hurt the bottom line for each of these industries. Maybe. 7/11
Overall, animal fabrics have the worst GHG emissions. Plant-derived fabrics like cotton are worse for freshwater use, animal fabrics entail more water pollution. Synthetic fabrics are entirely not biodegradable, but neither are certain leather tanning chemicals. 8/11
Figure 28 of the report "Pulse of the Fashion Industry" has some great graphs across multiple metrics for the environmental impacts of clothing materials sustainabilityportal.net/blog/pulseofth… 9/11
But fabrics are not like food or fuel. We don’t have daily requirements. Many shop way beyond their needs. How frequently we buy new vs. used-or-not-at-all is the biggest determinant of our footprint. Not so with consuming food. Biggest impact choice is beef vs. beans. 10/11
A leather jacket has the equivalent emissions of a solo car trip from New York to DC. That's substantial, but high-frequency shopping could multiply those impacts. Are you the type of person who buys three new jackets a season or one every three years? 11/11
