About leather
What is leather and where does it come from?
Leather is a fantastic material that has been used for human clothing for thousands of years. Today, leather is used in everything from clothes to bags, shoes, car interiors, aircraft and furniture.
In leather production a hide is split into up to four layers; the outer layer is called grain leather, while the other layers are called split leather. Split leather has a suede surface on both sides – as opposed to grain leather, which has suede on one side only.
Leather is a waste product from the meat industry, where tanneries turn this waste product into a valuable material, thus the leather does not go to waste but is recycled.
The cow has had a life...
and there are things about cowhides that we have to accept.
In the course of the cow’s life, it has probably experienced some wounds – This could be insect bites, burn marks, scars, horn impacts etc.
However, in corrected leather these marks have been more or less ground away and covered by dye.
In the pictures on your left, you can see what marks to be expected on aniline leather. These signs of life are part of aniline leather's authentic and exclusive look.
Sustainability and social responsibility
It is important to us that all our leather can be traced back to the source and that the tanneries take environmental concerns into account. The water from the tanneries is recycled and re-discharged and some tanneries use a chrome-free process.
Our leather is processed only by adults, under good working conditions. For this reason, we buy our leather only from trusted suppliers in Italy, Austria, Brazil and Germany. That means we can stand by our products – both in human terms and in relation to the environment.
Watch the video to see an example of the process – from the time the hides arrive from the slaughterhouse until they emerge as finished leather for furniture, car interiors or aircraft.
The importance of good suppliers
Leather tanning is a long and careful process that requires just the right touch – and the right knowledge.
CAMO Leathers uses several different suppliers to ensure we can customise and offer exactly the right range to our customers.
On the right you can see pictures from our supplier Wollsdorf Leder in Austria, who have their own tannery.