Return to the Roots
Originally Published: 04 October, 2010
I would like to introduce myself as a leather technician, owner and
co-owner of tanning companies Heller-Leder, Helcor-Leder-tec and
Südleder. Outside of my daily business activities I am also president of
the German Leather Industry Association (Verband der deutschen
Lederindustrie) and of the ‘German Leather Development Group’
(Forschungsgemeinschaft Leder).
It is no wonder that I am very fond of leather and its image as both
my parents’ family histories are connected to the leather business,
meaning that I am the 4th generation of my family involved in leather
manufacturing.
I want you to consider the following statements:
- Leather is a natural product
- Leather has specific characteristics which other materials do not have or not to the same extent
- Leather is distinctive
- Leather is valuable
- Leather arouses emotions
These five statements account for the image, the popularity and also the high demand for leather.
Myself, as a leather-guy and leather technician who has been dealing
from childhood with this fantastic material do, however, see a huge
risk to leather in the future.
During the 26 years that I have been professionally in the leather
business this wonderful natural material has become more and more a
product that is reduced to its technical characteristics and
performance at the expense of its natural features.
The technical properties are certainly important, but should in many
instances be an additional feature and rarely the main reason to use the
material. To meet some technical characteristics we are in danger of
destroying what really makes leather special, ie its naturalness, the
outstanding touch and comfort characteristics compared to other
materials, its distinctiveness and the emotions which it should arouse –
and with all of that the real added value.
Why should I create a shoe lining leather that has an excellent
perspiration fastness then apply a heavy finish on it to achieve good
sweat rubbing fastness and thus negate the perspiration properties as
the shoe is no longer able absorb the sweat? This is absurd.
Why should I use a car interior leather that cannot be differentiated
with regards to comfort, feel or touch from synthetic materials?
Automotive leather is now such a good technical product that it still
looks brand new after five years while the car exterior shows its age.
The natural look and touch is gone before being fitted in the car. It’s
more plastic than leather.
Why should I buy a piece of furniture covered with leather that is
resistant against all kinds of dirt and stains yet feels cold in the
winter and hot in the summer. Leaving you sweating on it like sitting
on piece of plastic foil? So much finish is applied that the natural
appearance and handle is lost.
Why should I have an object made out of leather that has been stripped
of everything that might be a sign of its naturalness such as hair
pores, healed hedge cuts and bruises? The visual difference with
synthetic materials has become blurred or lost (the differences in
comfort and feel we have ‘killed’ by making the material meet ever more
demanding technical specifications).
If this trend of viewing leather more and more as a technical product
and no longer as a natural product with all its associated advantages
but also with some disadvantages in order to maintain the naturalness,
then we are running the risk of downgrading leather to the level of
artificial materials.
In my opinion we are already going too far as the difference, depending
on the leather type, in technical properties, is making leather
difficult to distinguish, even for the experts, compared with
synthetics!
Leather, once this happens, due to its premium price (hidden below huge
amounts of finish in order to achieve the technical requirements) will
increasingly lose more market share against other cheaper materials
because nobody will recognise its value and, therefore, why should
anyone pay more for it? Many hides simply don’t need to be corrected or
buffed and can be processed with a natural grain intact. Natural
leather is a premium material and can command higher prices. We should
allow the leathers natural characteristics to show themselves.
Therefore, my appeal to you is to try new ways by returning to old
values, which our customers in the North American furniture industry
have done so successfully. Approximately 25 years ago ca. 90% of all
leather used looked rather like a plastic cover but, today, aniline
leather is now resurgent with all its advantages and also the few
disadvantages …what a change!
Let’s try!
Thomas Strebost
Taken from LEATHER INTERNATIONAL, the link to the website and original article can be found here: http://www.leathermag.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/14512/Return_to_the_roots.html
