Since cavemen first donned animal skins, there has always been a close connection between animals and other living creatures and what we wear. Wool, silk, leather, down... they've kept us warm (and cool) and held our trousers up.
Whilst we recognise that some of you will always have ethical qualms about buying animal products, many of you are not vegetarian or vegan and our aim at Adili is to be as transparent as possible about the different ethical issues and let everyone make their own minds up.
There are three major considerations for us when it comes to leather:
- How the animals are raised
- How the animals are slaughtered
- The environmental impact of tanning the hides
We realise leather will always be a ‘no-go’ for strict vegetarians and vegans, but for others its more appealing than synthetic alternatives, so for the select few leather products we sell, we have a policy in place, to ensure they’re as kind to animals and the environment as possible.
We will aim to only stock a leather product when:
- It can be demonstrated that the tanning process had minimal environmental impact (includes dyes, water consumption and pollution)
- It can be clearly identified which animal skin was used
- The leather in the product is recycled
- The leather is a small component of a product that is made by a fair trade producer group
- The benefit to the producers outweighs any ethical implications to the animal - this should be clearly identified so you can act on your own ethical beliefs
We would like to only stock leather if it can be demonstrated that the animal was raised and slaughtered under good animal welfare conditions - preferably with some external certification (organic, free range).However, we recognise that the majority of suppliers cannot currently track the source of the leather back to the animal. Adili commits to working on a transparent source of leather.
We never accept skins from endangered and protected species (even when sourced from a legal cull).
- A leather jacket bought recently on the UK high street was found to contain over 50% of the recommended level of chromium.
- There have also been studies showing that cases of leukaemia among residents near tanneries are up to five times greater than normal.
- According to one study, more than half of all testicular cancer victims work in tanneries.
What the terms mean:
Tanning - this process of curing hides and turning them into leather has always been a smelly, nasty business. Nowadays, chromiums are widely used; these are highly polluting and known carcinogens. Whilst there are strict controls on their use in Europe and North America this is not the case in developing countries where most leather is now produced.
Vegetable Tanning - uses the tannins found naturally in plants and trees instead of chromiums and other minerals. It’s a slower process but a much nicer one.
E-Leather - is the creation of a British inventor and entrepreneur. Previously it was hard to re-use all the scraps of leather left over from making something, so lots of leather was going to waste, but that was until E-leather came along. The scraps of leather are shredded and re-bound together over canvas, producing new E-leather sheets that can be cut as fabric. Clever, hey.
- Raising animals has a far heavier impact on the earth than arable farming.
- It takes 500 litres of water to produce a kilo of potatoes, but 100,000 litres to produce a kilo of beef.
- Currently livestock herds account for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions, including 25% of all methane emissions.
Some sheep that have been bred for wool can have ultra heavy coats that they struggle to bear on their frames. However one of the major animal welfare issues with wool production is how to deal with “fly strike” a horrible condition where flies burrow under the skin (usually around the backside) and lay their eggs which hatch into maggots and eat away at the skin. In most places this is treated with chemicals, however in some places (most notably Australia – though is being phased out) “mulesing” is practised whereby the folds of skin are cut away without anaesthetic so that the resultant scarring prevents the laying of eggs.
We would love to be able to trace all the wool we use right back to the animal – however, as with so much of the garment industry the wool passes through many many hands before getting to being used in making a garment. We're working on it and where it is possible you'll see us shouting about it. Learn about organic wool.
Pearls require the death of the oyster or other mollusc so are considered unethical by strict vegetarians and vegans. Fresh water pearls are mainly sourced from China where there are concerns about working conditions. We don't absolutely refuse pearls, particularly when they are part of something made by a fair trade producer group, but we do aim to challenge our brands and suppliers to work on identifying the source.
Bone is used in jewellery and trimmings (primarily buttons) and is almost always a by-product of the food industry. Strict vegetarians and vegans regard it as unethical. Potentially is has the same animal welfare issues pertaining to leather apply (intensive farming, cruelty during slaughtering). Sadly is unlikely that suppliers know the source of the bone and whether it was humanely reared and slaughtered, thus we try to avoid it. However an exceptions are made for products from fair trade producer groups.
Down come from the small feathers nearest the breast of geese and ducks. Most down is a by-product of slaughter, with the same animal welfare issues regarding factory farming/intensive rearing. However in some countries feathers are live plucked causing considerable pain and distress. We aim to buy only down that can be traced to a farm with high standards of animal welfare and/or organic. As ever, the supply chains are not always simple or transparent and many people have no idea where their down is sourced. However we believe it is only by asking the questions and working together that things can improve.