Why Vegan Leather Is Not the Answer (And What We Use Instead)

A research team at RMIT University just confirmed what the leather industry has known for years. The sustainable choice is more complicated than the label suggests.

Every week, someone asks us why LGDO uses animal leather.

It is a fair question. The assumption behind it is also fair: vegan leather sounds better. No animals. Cleaner. More ethical.

The problem is that "vegan leather" is not a material. It is a marketing label. And a study published this month by researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology pulls that label apart.

What the research actually says

Caroline Swee Lin Tan and Saniyat Islam, associate professors at RMIT, found that most vegan leather products contain a significant plastic component. Whether it is a synthetic coating like polyurethane (PU) or PVC, or a plant-based alternative made from pineapple, mushroom, apple, grape or cactus fibres, the majority of these materials rely on petroleum-derived plastic resins to achieve durability.

"A pineapple leather shoe may be celebrated for its plant fibres," the researchers write, "but those fibres are typically bound with plastic resins to make the material durable."

The consequences are concrete. These materials release microplastics. They degrade once the surface coating fails, with no effective repair possible. Some plant-based vegan leather products have a useful lifespan of just two years. And in markets like Australia, many cannot be recycled at all, despite being marketed as sustainable.

The conclusion from the researchers is direct: "Vegan and sustainable are not the same thing. Sustainability is measured in years of use, not words on a label."

The case for bovine leather as a byproduct

Bovine leather comes from cattle hides that are a byproduct of the meat and dairy industry. The animal is not raised for its hide. If the hide is not converted into leather, it becomes waste. Using it is, by definition, a more complete use of an existing resource.

This does not make bovine leather impact-free. Cattle farming carries real greenhouse gas emissions, primarily methane. Chrome tanning, if poorly managed, generates chemical pollution. We do not dismiss these concerns.

What we do is address them at the source. Every hide used in LGDO products comes from LWG-certified tanneries. The Leather Working Group is an independent body that audits tanneries against strict environmental criteria: water use, chemical management, waste treatment, traceability. It is the most rigorous third-party standard in the industry.

The question nobody asks about durability

The RMIT researchers make a point that cuts to the centre of the sustainability debate: the metric that matters most is how long something lasts.

A product that lasts ten years and requires one hide is a different environmental calculation than a product that lasts two years and requires five replacements, even if each replacement is made from plant fibres.

LGDO products are built from full-grain leather, which develops patina over time rather than degrading. The belt, the cardholder, the sleeve, the bag: they are designed to be used for decades. They can be conditioned, cared for, repaired. They do not end up in landfill after two seasons.

This is not a marketing claim. It is a design principle.

Why we are honest about the trade-offs

We did not choose bovine leather because it is perfect. We chose it because, when you look at the full picture, it is the most honest choice for what we are building.

Plant-based alternatives are interesting. Some of them, at scale, may become genuinely competitive. We watch that space. But today, most of them either compromise on durability, rely on plastic coatings that undermine their environmental claims, or are not available with the quality and consistency that premium leather goods require.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission now requires brands to back up claims like "sustainable" or "eco-friendly" with evidence across the full product lifecycle. We think that standard should apply everywhere.

At LGDO, we use LWG-certified full-grain bovine leather, produced in Portugal, and we tell you exactly why. Not because it is the easy answer. Because it is the accurate one.

LGDO products are designed and handcrafted in São João da Madeira, Portugal. All leather is sourced from LWG-certified tanneries.

[Shop the collection at lgdo.eu]