Leather can be broadly grouped under three main categories as follows:
• Finished leather
• Footwear (manufactured into shoes, slippers and sandals, and footwear components like uppers and soles)
• Leather garments (readymade garments and leather goods)

People who use leather are well aware that it is the skin of animals, but they do not ask themselves if the animal died a natural death or was slaughtered. This includes the Kora Kendra so-called ahinsak leather goods which claim to have been made from only non-slaughtered animals (yes, non-slaughtered, but killed
in some other way). The fact is that their leather is obtained from animals killed
in research laboratories, put to sleep by veterinarians, fatal road accident cases or starved to death as in the case of male dairy calves. Even knowing this, people tend to consider leather as a by-product of the killing, thus absolving themselves of the blame for the act of killing. According to them, it is the
persons who buy the meat that are responsible for the killing, not the wearers of the skin. The skin is just thrown away, they claim, to be picked up by the leather manufacturer, who thereby does a great service by not ‘wasting’ any part of the animal, which is dead ‘anyway’. They again are unaware, or more likely choose to disregard the fact, that the skin is not just ‘picked up’, it is bought against cash as much as the meat is. When cattle is sold to the butcher the value of leather is considered, when sheep is sold the fleece is paid for, and so on. Moreover, no leather-goods’ manufacturer waits for raw materials (animal skins) because purchases that are a result of slaughter are constantly made and there is no break in production.

The only difference, and probably the one that enables the leather-user to distance him or her from the guilt of the crime, is the long chain of workers that come between the butcher and the shoe-seller. This chain not only hides the source of the leather from the user, it actually provides the leather-user a justification for using leather, such as the employment it generates. If people had to buy the skin directly from the butcher to make their own shoes, they would realise while standing next to the meat-buyer, just how identically culpable to the meat eaters they are for the killing.

It is unfortunate that the strictest advocates of vegetarianism in the world’s history have seen nothing worthy of comment, criticism, or condemnation in the use of leather. The Government of India is no different because as part of the Independence Day 2008 gift package the Government Okayed Rs 912 crores for development of leather industry infrastructure in the XI Plan. Furthermore, the Central Leather Research Institute and Shivaji University, Kolhapur have undertaken a scheme worth Rs 2 crores to revive the Kolhapur leather chappal industry.

However, in 2000 thanks to the efforts of animal activists, leather originating in India was struck off the import list of three major retailers, Gap Inc, Banana Republic and Old Navy of the US because they were informed of the cruelty involved to the animals in the process. Nevertheless, India exports $3.50 billion worth of leather. About 70% of it goes to UK and Europe and a small percentage to America although the trade is mainly in dollars. In India the industry did business of about Rs 40,000 crores during 2007-08.

By 2006 the major leather domestic footwear manufacturers were Bata, CSC, Aero, Liberty, Mesco, Wasan and Phoenix. Corporate houses like Hindustan Lever, L&T, Ponds, Tata Exports, etc. were also marketing and exporting of leather products. In 2010 the top formal shoe brands in India were Red Tape, Florsheim, Gabor, Salamander, Clarks and St Michael’s, and sport shoe brands Reebok, Nike and Adidas.

Uttar Pradesh holds a sizeable livestock population in India: 22%. For buffaloes it ranks first, second for cattle (12%), and goat and sheep fourth and fifth positions. This is what makes UP’s leather industry flourish – abundant raw material coupled with cheap labour. There are 11,500 major leather production centres and industries in UP situated mainly in and around Kanpur and Agra. Kanpur has 200 tanneries processing hides into heavy leather for soles, bridles, harnesses, saddles, (according to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, India exported harnesses and saddles worth Rs 3,925.11 crore between April 2010 and March 2011 to equestrian markets in Europe and USA) and industrial leather goods; whereas Agra is the place where the most shoe manufacturers are located. In 2010, it was reported that 1736 million pairs of shoes were manufactured annually thus making India the second largest manufacturer in the world – the first being China. NOIDA has emerged as another centre for leather footwear and garments. And then there is Meerut which specialises in the production of leather sports goods like cricket balls.

Footwear: It would not be wrong to say that the entire leather industry survives on the demand for leather footwear as it is the most common application for leather. The overall footwear market grows fast, but growth in 2007 was especially high: it grew 12% in 2007 as against 9.2% in 2006. It is also the only use of leather that is defined by everyone, even vegetarians, as a need. The average leather footwear utilises several animals’ skins: tough cattle hide for the sole (although 90% soles of footwear made in India are of non-leather materials), thinner and differently tanned and processed calf leather (could be substituted with other skins like that of reptiles or even dogs) for the upper, still thinner goat skin for the inside lining and if a moulded rubber or polymer sole with heel has not been utilised, machine pressed leather fining made into a regenerated leather board for giving appropriate strength and flexibility could be placed in-between the outer and inner soles.

Animal activists have begun moving in the right direction by bringing down leather consumption considerably. During 2010 and 2011 they’ve been responsible for convincing the government to ban the use of leather shoes for school children and even Jawans. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) also decided in 2011 to phase out the use of leather footwear and belts.

Shoes: People who consider canvas inadequate for ‘formal’ occasions like interviews, marketing and sales, presentations, etc., but don’t want to wear real leather will be glad to know that there are always non-leather alternatives available in the market. Ask at any shoe store for non-leather footwear — the attendant will be very likely to know what you mean, and will more than likely pull out a couple of varieties for you possibly from their monsoon range. Years ago these were made only from a Rexene-type of material called leather cloth, but now made of much better quality materials indistinguishable from leather in looks, unless very closely inspected; the soles of such footwear are very likely moulded hard polymer. Their disadvantage is that they don’t ‘breathe’ as well as natural leather, so ‘synthetic’ leather shoes may prove uncomfortable for some. But at such times, think of the discomfort a cow must feel at having her throat slit open. Shouldn’t she be allowed to breathe as well? Therefore, let us stick with the ‘synthetic’ leather, making sure that both the sole and upper are non-leather. The labels “Made from Man-made Materials” or “Man-made Upper” and “Man-made Sole” on many shoes could indicate that the material is ‘synthetic’.

More and more good quality, non-leather, alternatives are being used in the making of footwear for both men and women, but an important caution regarding ‘man-made materials’ needs to be kept in mind: Bicast leather is ‘man-made’ and it consists of a thick layer of polyurethane applied to low-grade or bonded/reconstituted leather (90% to 100% leather scrap fibres bonded together with latex binders) developed by Bayer and widely used by automotive, electrical and electronics, construction, sports and leisure industries. In Foot-Works2008 at Chennai, BMS (Bayer Material Science) offered tailor-made solutions to the footwear industry by introducing their high-tech products like thermo-plastic & thermoset poly-urethanes, coatings and adhesives. Most of the Bicast leather that has been created by others utilises inferior materials and so it turns out stiff and delamintes resulting in bubbles and cracking. This is important to remember when choosing ‘man-made’ footwear. In short, if the material is very stiff, bubbles are visible, or looks like it will crack, it is leather.

Canvas is a very good material for shoes — it breathes, is light in weight, comfortable to wear, washes in plain soap and water just like clothes, is inexpensive, and is not a petroleum-based product like ‘synthetic’ leathers are. The humble canvas must be given the same importance as was given to khadi by Gandhiji, on the grounds of its simplicity, its inexpensiveness, its comfort, the fact that it is not a petroleum product. How can a piece of cloth be considered good, he asked, if it creates unemployment, impoverishment, enslavement to Manchester, however good it may look, however polished its appearance? Similarly, shouldn’t we also ask ourselves how a leather shoe can look good if great brutality has gone into its production? Shouldn’t we remind people who point out that canvas shoes look sloppy for formal occasions, that looks, which are subjective anyway, hide a lot of deeds, and that we consciously avoid leather and see nothing wrong in canvas. Sloppiness in looks lies in the eyes of the beholder. The leather wearer must be reminded that s/he should look beyond the appearance of the shoe and into the conscious decision that has motivated the canvas-shoe wearer. Such a rebuttal usually draws a very respectful response.

Chappals and slippers can be deceptive in their non-leather content. It is usually easy to make out if the sole is made of leather and to a fairly good extent a person can also distinguish on close inspection whether the upper and inner sole lining is made of leather or not. But, what is difficult to know is the material used in between the outer sole and inner sole which is not visible. This very often is a regenerated leather board or Salpa which looks similar to and is stiff like cardboard but is actually machine pressed leather fining. Polypropylene resin coated cellulose boards sold under brand names of Texon and Bontex are some times used in place of leather boards by shoemakers. As it is impractical to cut open chappals to check if they contain leather boards, one has to rely on the word of the shopkeeper. However, if the sole is of a moulded variety (usually with heels) it would not necessitate the use of a stiff material in between the inner and outer sole. Jute/Osho slippers are made entirely of jute or of jute-cum-rubber are usually available at jute products exhibitions, outside the Osho Ashram (Pune), and at Khadi outlets like the Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan, Mumbai. They are very comfortable to wear but cannot be worn in wet conditions. Rubber or plastic slippers, like the humble ‘Hawaii’ chappal is still a very good thing to wear, especially in wet conditions. It may not be considered suitable for formal occasions, but if worn clean and carried properly, should be worn with as much pride as leather footwear users possess for the reasons discussed above. In celebration of International Earth Day 2011, “Soles with Souls” footwear was launched in Delhi – made by recycling old tyres, JK Tyre and the Footwear Design and Development Institute created the eco-friendly footwear. Rexene/Rexine/Leather-cloth/Vinyl/PVC/Poly-Vinyl-Chloride (‘synthetic’ leather), footwear is commonly available at the regular shoe shops. (However, Bis(2-ethylthexyl)phalate/DEHP used as a softener in PVC plastic is considered a reproductive carcinogen for footwear although it is mainly used for medical devices.) Special care needs to be taken to find out if they are totally free from leather. (Vinyl and Linoleum flooring do not contain any animal substances. In fact, Linoleum is a generic term for a floor covering made from solidified linseed oil in combination with wood flour/cork dust over burlap/canvas backing.)

Pseudo-leather footwear: Now commonly seen in shoe shops, in different styles for men and women, it is necessary to carefully examine the footwear to make sure it contains no animal leather. Being cheap doesn’t mean it is not animal leather; moreover, the word of the shop assistant should not be accepted because s/he probably doesn’t even know that pleather and bicast leathers are a mixture of plastic and leather.

Leather of different animals and their typical uses: Overall leather for world consumption comes from a variety of animals such as cattle (buffalo included) and sheep being the most common; also from goats, hogs/boars, alligators, crocodiles, ostriches, emus, kangaroos and yaks. Bison leather which has a waxy feel, is used for jackets and baseball gloves; deer and elk skins for work gloves and shoes; deer and lamb skins for some expensive apparels; ostrich leather for upholstery, automotive products, footwear, accessories and clothing; emu hide is used by the fashion industry to make jackets, coats, handbags, belts, and wallets, for book-binding and as lining for boots and luggage; kangaroo skin for bullwhips and some motorcycles(the Predator PowerSwerve football boots by Adidas have kangaroo skin uppers so the skin was specially replaced by a lightweight microfibre for the internationally famous footballer David Beckham who heeded objections from UK’s animal rights activists); pig skin for apparel, accessories and seats of saddles; snake and crocodile/alligator skins for exotic items. Exotic leathers/skins/hides such as expensive shark, ostrich, and pigs’ skins are obtained by specially breeding these creatures for slaughter. Fish skin, especially leather processed from salmon, shark, catfish, and tuna, is used as a substitute for snake and lizard skins. ‘Rain forest leather’ is actually leather from cows that were grazed on once-dense jungle in South American countries.

A number of famous rock groups and celebrities wear leather clothing. Some readymade clothes like jeans come with leather patches, e.g. Levi Strauss, Pepe Jeans, Numero Uno, Lee Jeans, and Skykar Jeans. Jeans with non-leather patches are also available, e.g. Cotton King and some from Mexx. Ostrich leather with its characteristic ‘goose-bump’ (large follicles from which the feathers grew) is used by major fashion houses such as Hermès, Parda, Gucci and Louis Vuitton who popularised trimming of Vachetta leather on luggage. Louis Vuitton also markets products of Taiga leather derived from animals that live in the sub-artic, evergreen coniferous forests. In Thailand leather of sting ray (marine creature) is commonly used in wallets and belts. Ironically, India has not stopped the sale of imported crocodile skin products, e.g. an office bag made of alligator skin from the Ermenegildo Zegna’s collection sells for over Rupees seven lakhs.

Leather, Hide and Skin are used for apparel, garments, jackets, belts, gloves, footwear, handbags, wallets, purses, watch and other straps, mobile phone and spectacle covers, linings, trimmings, accessories, upholstery, tapestry, wall-hangings, picture frames, luggage (trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, executive-cases, briefcases, school satchels, travelling bags) book-binding, book and diary covers, credit card holders, sports, musical instruments, decorations, artefacts, curios, knickknacks, ornamental and fancy items, toys and puppets, etc. Most of it is from slaughtered cows and bulls although 20% of the world’s goat skin is from India. About eighteen square feet (roughly only a quarter of a saree) of leather is obtained from an average sized cow or bull in India. For example, a leather jacket would be made from approximately ten square feet (55% hide of a single cow or bull and if also lined with leather, the skin of two medium-sized goats); and a leather briefcase from five and a half square feet representing 30% hide of a single cow or bull together with the entire skin of approximately three small goats used for the inside lining and the compartments.

Leather and hide is used for making high-end luggage (briefcases and suitcases) and some bags/cases used to carry sports equipment. They can be full-leather or some non-leather ones could have leather handles or leather belting similar to pulley belts used for machinery.

Leather upholstery (sofa and chair covers, also seats in vehicles) create heavy demands for the skin of large animals since large single pieces of leather are called for which can not be obtained from smaller animals. On an average as little as eighteen square feet of leather obtained is in two pieces and since the animal’s hide is, naturally, shaped like the animal’s body to a large extent, a considerable quantity of the hide cannot be utilised for upholstery, the manufacture of which therefore entails the use of hide from many more animals. And as explained earlier, cow hide is not a by-product of the meat industry.

Depending on the size of the cow or bull whether it is a small, medium or large animal, 15, 20 or 25 square feet of hide is obtained. In the case of a calf it would be 12 square feet. Therefore at least 4 animal hides or skins would be utilised for the upholstery of one passenger car. For example, Audi only uses drum-dyed real leather from cows. Some vehicles use part leather part vinyl or fabric and usually describe them as “leather seat inserts” and “leather-trimmed seats”.

Camel hide is not only commonly used in Rajasthan for slippers/mojadis but entire pieces of furniture, bags, doors and artefacts like lampshades, vases and bowls are covered with camel leather, some of which is Cordwain/Cordovan work (decorating leather for walls by embossing/painting in gold and other colours.)

Balls used for sports like cricket, hockey, football and volleyball are made of leather, although some volleyballs are made from non-animal materials. Cricket balls mainly manufactured in Meerut and Sialkot are made of cow/bull hide (buffalo leather was tried but found unsuitable). It is interesting that non-leather cricket balls have a higher sale than those made from leather, mainly because they are cheaper and slower in wearing out as compared to the leather ones. They may not be perfect performance-wise, but they suffice for amateur level at which most cricket matches are played. Hockey sticks may also have leather. Boxing and golf gloves could be of leather. Leather tips of varying degrees, shapes and hardness are glued to the ferrule of snooker/billiard/pool cue sticks.

Sheep/goat epidermises/jhilli or ox-gut/goldbeater’s skin is used in the production of edible metal foil called chandi-ka-varkh/silver leaf and also gold leaf. The demand in India is for 2.5 crores of booklets per year which equals 37.5 crores of animals. 12,500 animal epidermises of sheep/goat are used for producing 1 kg of varkh. Similarly a pack of 1,000 pieces of silver/goldbeater’s skin requires the gut of about 400 oxen. Varkh is used as decoration on mithai, paan, supari, chyavanprash, mukhwaas, fruit, in syrups, Ayurvedic formulations, liquors, sweets, and ironically to decorate idols of Jain Tirthankars.

Used for pages of a book or manuscripts, and for crafts, parchment is made from sheep/goat/calf skin and vellum is finer quality parchment of calf skin. Plant based Vegetable Parchment paper is made by treating high density paper with silicone.

Drum, tabla, dukra, duggi, dholak, pakhavaj, mardal, khol, mridangam, and other percussion instruments use the skin of various animals, e.g., iguana, buffalo, goat, deer, cat, sheep, elks, cattle, etc. Ghumot, an earthenware pot covered with the skin of the monitor lizard is used as a drum in Goa. However, most modern foreign percussion instruments are made with non-animal ‘skin’. Expensive cat skin is used to cover the sound box of a musical instrument called shamisen (it resembles a violin played with a bow) used in Japan. Cat skin has to be well pounded, stretched, dried and while processing stretched without tearing so that it is of uniform thickness to produce a good melodious sound. Hide glue is used for repairing musical instruments such as those of the violin family.

Certain puppets contain leather similar to that used in gloves and toys. Some leather puppets are 3 to 5 feet huge, made of deer, goat and buffalo hide and utilised for shadow theatre shows called Tolu Bommalatam in Andhra Pradesh.

Other leathers: Around 1975 an Animal By-products Utilisation Centre was started by the Municipal Corporation at Madras for processing and manufacturing exportable items from stray dogs’ skins. The market for dog leather is not good if the purchasers are told that the leather is from a dog. It is therefore passed off as just leather. Also leather made from rat skin is used to manufacture fine leather goods.

The Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) organise a Leather Fair in Chennai every year. They try their best to promote the use of leather. In 1998 they organised a fashion show in which leather skirts, blouses, shirts, vests, blazers, trousers, Bermudas, shawls, scarves, bikinis, etc. were displayed. This in spite of the All India Survey of Raw Hides made by the CLRI which had stated way back in 1982 that the population of cattle in relation to human population was decreasing fast having come down from 44% to 27% from 1951 to 1982.

The leather industry, represented by the Council for Leather Exports (CLE) citing eventual closure frequently seeks various concessions from the Centre. Nevertheless, export of leather-based products between April-September 2008 stood at Rs 8,524.73 crores with the target for 2008-09 being $ 4,000 million. In fact, till the end of 2008 leather exports from the CLE’s eastern wing recorded a steady 20% growth. However India’s export may miss the 2008-09 $4 billion target due to slowdown in demand during the last quarter. Besides organising group participation abroad (Las Vega, USA and Milan, Italy) the CLE is planning on organising fairs in India – international at Delhi in October 2009 and the annual national fair at Chennai and Kolkata in January-February 2010.

In 2010 the CLE began identifying new markets for leather products export such as Turkey, Jordan, Latin America, Africa, East Asia and Middle East with the aim of a $ 7.03 billion trade by 2014 because the country has the raw material in the form of 21% of the world’s cattle and 11% of the world’s goat and sheep population. Simultaneously, the CLE has begun importing nearly 10% of hides and skins of particular thicknesses and quality required for supply of goods abroad since the demand for “raw material” (read skins and hides of animal) can not be met by domestic supply.

Leather exports rose about 10% in July 2010 according to CLE. The indianleatherportal.com website boasts that 65 million hides and 170 million skins are produced annually. The industry is among the country’s top eight export earners and employs 2.5 million persons; a large part (nearly 60-65%) of the production is in the small/cottage sector; annual exports are poised to touch about 2 billion US dollars; India is endowed with 10% of the world’s “raw material”; exports constitute about 2% of the world’s trade and have enormous growth potential.

The latest January 2011 information is that the CLE has set a target of $8.25 billion by 2014-15, as against 2009-10 level of $3.4 billion with a compounded annual growth rate of 15%. This of course can only be achieved through slaughtering thousands of more animals.

A week earlier to declaring this target, during the Animal Welfare Fortnight, the CLE supported a nation-wide Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) advertisement in newspapers. It was disgraceful on the part of the AWBI, and in an excess of hypocrisy the CLE’s website URL was even placed right next to the AWBI’s website URL. BWC wrote to the Union Minister of Environment & Forests pointing out that meat and leather are two sides of the same coin, and leather cannot be obtained without killing animals. Also that if the AWBI does not show reverence for life, it ought to close down. We asked for no explanation because it would have obviously been a cover up. Instead, we requested that rules should be put in place to ensure such grave, illogical mistakes never re-occur. Ironically, the Board’s explanation (as projected by the Chairman in a discussion with some one) was that the AWBI saw nothing wrong in CLE’s money being put to good use! In other words, murder and then pay with blood money earned to create public awareness not to murder.

Some Leather varieties: Aniline leather is not coloured, but treated with aniline dye to produce a delicate, soft, supple ‘naked’ leather; Pleather is a synthetic/man-made leather made from plastic and leather as the name denotes as is Bicast leather which consists of a thick layer of polyurethane applied to a substrate of low-grade or bonded/reconstituted leather developed by Bayer and used in many segments like the footwear industries, whereas Bonded/Reconstituted leather is 90% to 100% leather scrap fibres bonded together with latex binders to create a ‘true’ leather look; Box calf is calf skin treated with chromium salts and having square markings on the grain; Cabretta leather is hair-sheep skins much used in footwear and gloves for sports like golf; Caiman is inferior quality crocodile skin; California Banknotes are hides; Camel hide/skins/leather is considered stronger than bovine hide/leather, is tanned as ‘fur on’ and ‘fur off’, is commonly used in Rajasthan for slippers, is available as matt finish in a variety of colours and called wet-blue, crust or finished leather made into hats, boots and fashion garments in Australia; Carding leather is a special type of side leather; Chamois leather is skin of a small mountain antelope or young sheep/goat/kid/pig (could also be of dog skin), used for making expensive gloves and cycling shorts, and used for cleaning, rubbing and polishing items made of brass, silverware, jewellery, fine instruments such as cameras, painted surfaces such as that of vehicles, spectacles, and to filter aviation petrol (the usually yellow coloured soft cotton cloth, commonly available for cleaning cars is the non-leather alternative); Corinthian is a brand name given by Chrysler for the leather used in their luxury cars; Clemence leather is the hide of a young bull; Crupp leather is a semicircular portion of leather taken from the butt of tanned horse hide; Cuir bouilli/Boiled leather is thick and hard due to being boiled, was used for armour but now to bind books; Deer skin is the toughest of leathers; Italian leather is high quality leather (animal hides can be from any part of the world, but if tanned in Italy get distinguished as Italian leather) used for a multitude of products ranging from shoes to car upholstery (it is used in some cars like the Mitsubishi Outlander made in India); Morocco leather is sheep skin dyed red and has a bird’s eye pattern grain; Nubuck is cattle hide with velvet-like surface (Birkibuc made from acrylic and polyamide felt fibres replicate Nubuck leather); Napa/Nappa is known for its softness, is chrome tanned and used for high quality goods; Patent leather is very shiny/glossy, smooth, and some times coated with plastic (acrylic and polyamide felt fibres of Birko-Flor replicates patent leather); Raw-hide is obtained by scraping the skin thin, soaking in lime and stretching while it dries; Shagreen/Stingray skin is rough leather, usually coloured green and commonly confused with shark skin), Slink is the soft hide of an unborn-calf/fetus used for gloves; Suede is leather with a dense, soft and fuzzy surface usually produced by rubbing the flesh side and looks similar to velvet and felt (NuSuede is a man-made material similar to suede); Togo leather is the hide of an adult bull; Vachetta is typically used as a trim on handbags and luggage.

Leather finishes: Full-Grain/Top-Grain are hides that have not been sanded, buffed or snuffed/corrected, only hair from the epidermis removed and available in two finish types Aniline and Semi-Aniline; Corrected-Grain is leather that has been sanded, buffed or snuffed/corrected, also available in two finish types Semi-Aniline and Pigmented; Split leather is created from the fibrous part of the hide left once the top-grain of the raw hide has been separated from the hide which is then used to create Suede, and if desired it can be further processed to give a full-grain appearance the trade name of which is Latigo. Chrome is a process relating to the use of chromium salts used for tanning leathers like Napa/Nappa known for its softness and is found in luxury cars like Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi.

Leather alternatives: Many pseudo-leather materials are produced from petrochemicals have been developed, e.g. Vegan Microfiber which is stronger than animal leather. Some others are artificial leather, Birko-Flor and Birkibuc from Birkenstock (acrylic and polyamide felt fibres which replicate patent and nubuck leathers); Cork Leather (bark of cork oak trees); Durabuck (by Nike used for athletic and hiking shoes, same as Chlorenol); Gore-Tex (water-proof breathable fabric manufactured from PTFE/polythetrafluoroethylene considered the best material for all-weather footwear); Hydrolite and Hydrotuff (by Staftex, nylon/polyester base fabrics coated with PU/Poly-Urethane and PVC/Poly-Vinyl-Chloride and therefore water-proof, used for heavy duty bags, folding chairs, awnings, safety gear); Kydex (by Kleerdex are tough and durable acrylic/PMMA+PVC/Poly-Vinyl-Chloride thermoplastic sheets which can be used as protective wall covering); Rexene/Rexine/Leather-cloth/Vinyl/PVC/Poly-Vinyl-Chloride supported cloth (‘synthetic leather’ manufactured by companies such as Bhor Industries and used in ladies’ chappals, footwear, handbags, wallets, etc.); Lorica (gloss-faced Japanese microfibres, dyed and softened in Italy); NuSuede (man-made material similar to suede); Poromeric (these imitation leathers are a group of ‘breathable’ leather substitutes made from plastic coating, usually a poly-urethane on a fibrous base such as polyester, e.g. Corfam by DuPont and Clarino by Kuraray Co. of Japan); and Vegetan (shop-owned brand name for a particular grade of microfibre). Newly developed Artificial Leather Photo Paper is made on a paper-cum-fabric base and comes in different textures, surface designs and colours.

Leather is not ahinsak: Up until the time of Mahatma Gandhi, the concept of ahinsak leather was absent. He was the first one to discriminate between types of leather depending upon the circumstances of their origin. Indeed, he also introduced the idea of ahinsak honey on the same lines. Both these so-called ahinsak products are characterised by the absence of the wilful and conscious intent of predation when obtaining the substances. Therefore, people of Gandhian persuasion or those who are aware of the actual source of leather strive to buy only so-called ahinsak leather from stores like the Khadi Bhandar. This option is chosen on the basis of the claims of the manufacturers (Kora Kendra) and marketers of ahinsak leather, that such leather is obtained only from non-slaughtered animals, implying that the animals have died a natural death. While the intentions and sincerity of such consumers are truly laudable, facts reveal that their faith in the manufacturers’ claims is being repaid by deceit.

It is quite obvious that it is a perversion of truth to call the death of the ahinsak-leather animals ‘natural’. Beauty Without Cruelty’s investigations prove that a very common source of the hide for ahinsak footwear is dairies! This fact incriminates both the leather and the dairy industries. Aren’t dairies supposed to be places where the only activity is to milk animals? Those animals obviously have to be kept alive to be milked. Then why are dairies a common source of hide, which is a product of dead animals? How does an industry that relies on live animals become a supplier of dead ones? Let us think about it. And let us stay safe and avoid so-called ahinsak leather too unless we wish to use the hide of uneconomical male calves intentionally starved to death. Or may be the skins of animals put to death in vivisection laboratories, or the skins of animals, including dogs ‘mercy killed’ in veterinary hospitals. Municipalities make contracts with Kora Kendras to lift all dead animals which include very few natural deaths and hardly any road accident victims. Over and above which when they run out of leather they have no qualms of purchasing it from the open market, the source of which is no other than the slaughter house.

In 2005, animal activists found out that Mahim creek (Mumbai) had been turned into a graveyard for newly born male calves. It was extremely painful for them to see bodies of so many calves stripped of their skins and legs tied with string and wire. The modus operandi according to residents of the area was that men from Dharavi wait to pick up and ruthlessly skin alive, the unwanted male calves which have been stuffed into gunny bags and thrown out of moving trains in the early hours of the morning, having been bought from cattle sheds of Goregaon, Jogeshwari and Malad for amounts ranging from Rs 5000 to 7000 by leather traders.

Bhaam no Ijaaro means contract for collect of dead animals and this is exactly what most panjrapoles (goshalas) of Gujarat believe in undertaking. One of the biggest panjrapoles has an annual tender of Rs 20 lakhs, so figure out how many animals must be disposed off every day at Rs 150 each. This income from carcasses makes panjrapoles reluctant to want to, leave alone try hard to save cattle (usually in their last stages) they receive because they have to spend to keep them alive whereas if they die they get money. As good as abandoned, animals are left in mud and muck outside while the sheds are empty. Moreover, they refuse to accept sheep, goats or any animals that are a result of a Police complaint. In view of this, leather obtained from such cattle can not be considered ahinsak either.

Leather tanning is an environmentalist’s nightmare. Animal hide is not wearable unless ‘cured’. ‘Curing’ is the process of cleaning the hide of the flesh, blood, hair, etc. sticking to it, then softening the hide, and treating it to last permanently without decomposing. The process of giving the hide a cure, however, ends up making everyone working on it need cures themselves, because ‘curing’ or ‘tanning’ requires the use of highly corrosive chemicals like chromium salts. Workers in tanneries contract life-long diseases from exposure to such chemicals and working conditions, which are known to be among the worst in the unorganised sector. A study on Kanpur’s tannery workers’ health declared that “leather production includes many operations with different exposures, which can be harmful for the health of the workers, and particularly be carcinogenic”. Quite often leather goods are assembled by sticking pieces together with the help of glue also of animal origin. In addition, tanning of leather could further entail the use of animal origin substances, e.g. neat’s foot oil derived from cattle feet and shinbones; palmitic acid/palmitin which could be derived from spermaceti or mink oil (or palm oil) which is imported.

Interestingly, the Chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board sold the apex authority a private patent called technology called lyophilliser (which dry freezes and preserves skins and hides without the use of salts) on a revenue sharing basis, and then in 2011 passed a directive in his official capacity placing a ban on any use or even transport of skins and hides where salts had been used for treating the leather. Thus, the leather industry was indirectly forced into buying expensive Rs 1 crore per unit, untested and not cost effective lyophilliser. The objection from them was that the unit processed only 5-10 hides at a time and needs 10-12 hours of constant high power and so increasing the cost of leather production by 60%.

Promoting leather is not only done by Indian companies such as Hidesign, in 2011 November, the international fashion house Hermes held a demonstration by their craftsmen at their Mumbai outlet. They boasted on their long-standing tradition of hand-stitching individual pieces like their Bearn wallet which they assembled using filet and perloir tools, dye and a lump of beeswax. BWC wonders why called the material “exotic leather” not ostrich leather.