As I have been making more of a conscious effort to shop more sustainably I had to figure out the best way to buy accessories like purses, belts, and other sustainable leather accessories. There are many options on the market that claim they created a sustainable solution for leather goods. But there really is no perfect solution if you are looking to buy a new leather accessory.
Vegan Leather
Unfortunately vegan leather is just plastic, which does not offer a sustainable option like we may have hoped. A truth that many have not come to terms with yet. I myself did not realize this at first and have bought vegan leather in the past. The marketing behind sustainable fashion can be quiet tricky to navigate sometimes and it requires our due diligence as enlightened consumers to research the claims of these companies before we give them power with our purchases. There are so many companies in the sustainable fashion industry that are weighing on false claims.
Genuine Sustainable Leather
The production of new genuine leather is part of two of the most wasteful industries our world is faced with today. Fashion and animal agriculture. After watching the documentary True Cost I learned how dying leather contaminates water supplies and is destroying millions of lives in third world countries. This is just part of the problem. One of the solutions for this is a vegetable or naturally dyed leather. One of my favorite shoe brands St. Agni offers beautiful shoes dyed in various colors of natural dyes. My personal favorite is the Ciao and Agnese woven slide in nude. This helps elevate the problem and as long as we have a meat industry we will have leather goods. So the solution to abolish this good is a question that I still have unanswered. However, there are still second-hand leather accessories.
Second-hand Sustainable Leather
Second-hand leather is the most sustainable option I have found. In fact, second-hand leather offers the most unique, beautiful, and one of a kind options out there. Something I had not considered until recently. I bought a beautiful leather Ralph Lauren belt from a consignment store that started my new obsession. See how I styled it here, here, and here. Then I had to peruse Etsy, which always gets me into trouble with endless choices. I found this amazing folk-style, tooled leather satchel. See how I styled it here and here. If you start looking for second-hand leather online I promise you won’t be disappointed. The only tricky thing to find is second-hand leather shoes, but it is good to have your eye out for those because you never know when something perfect might pop up.
I hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know what you think in the comments below! And find some of my favorite second-hand leather pieces that I have been finding on Etsy linked below.
70’s Tooled Leather Messenger Bag
Tooled Leather Purse with Rose
70’s Natural Leather Shoulder bag
Vintage Brown Leather Silvertone Buckle
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