Bovine Leather

  • Bovine leather is widely available and has a huge range of uses such as shoes, handbags, upholstery and even in luxury phones. It also comes in a variety of different finishes.

    Produced in 3 stages - Skinning/Preparation, tanning and finishing. Sometimes artificial grain is applied to perfect the hide. The material can also be boiled and stretched to achieve certain forms.

  • Physical Properties:

    • Varies due to breeding, age, care of animal an technique of craftsman

    • Distinctive odor

    • Naturally grained surface pattern

    • Characteristics enhanced with age

    • Tough & water repellant

    • Good grip

Sustainability

Leather has significant environmental impact apart from the impact on livestock. There are hazardous chemicals used in the tanning process and effluents from production. It generates waste due to the awkward shape of the cow resulting in a lot of small, unusable offcuts. The de-hairing process uses caustic lime and tanning process involves hazardous chemicals such as chromium. The use of leather is regulated to ensure that species are not endangered as a result of the trade in exotic animal leathers.

References

Lefteri, C. (2014). Materials for design. Laurence King

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Fish Leather