A modern tannery is a state-of-the-art facility

The leather industry has, for decades, been at the forefront of innovation in sustainable technologies. It has helped manufacturers reduce their carbon footprint, but also produce leathers that are eco-friendlier produced and free of VOCs. Yet, the public image of tanneries is often very different.

When you think of a leather tannery, you are likely to have an image in your mind of an open pit filled with liquid. Hides are hanging from racks around these as workers in shorts and t-shirts handle the substances used to produce leather. And that’s as far from the truth as it gets in how leather today is produced in safe, state-of-the-art facilities, yet for unclear reasons, media reports keep featuring pictures of tourist attractions or third-world facilities. Let’s see what a modern tannery looks like.

Watch the animation below.

Leather, produced for automotive seats, is manufactured under strict standards. That’s why tanneries are equipped with a lot of systems to guarantee safe procedures, monitor the use of resources, make sure water is reused and purified, and emissions are kept to a minimum. That may come as a surprise, but few other industries face as much scrutiny as leather. Due to the following and adhering to strict guidelines and regulations, leather manufacturers have invested significantly in better processes through the last decades.

Especially today, with growing meat consumption and a limited availability of resources, reusing materials we have in a safe and controlled manner, is vital. Animal hide are leftover in abundance and modern tanneries turn this by-product into quality leathers with minimal impact.