What goes around comes around, like this suede mini skirt. All the rage in AW15, and likely to be back on trend imminently with the 1970s inspiration we saw at LFW SS20.

Recently I had a message in my inbox about animal testing in the beauty industry, and it got me thinking about how I feel about animals in the supply chain in general. Today I want to share my thoughts on leather products in the fashion industry.

First and foremost I need to be clear about my priorities: whilst I hate the idea of ending a life to support my choices (food, clothing, etc.), I want to make the best choices for the earth and the longevity or all our lives. Which means purchasing leather instead of vegan leathers because animal leather will break down and return to the earth, whereas vegan leather won’t.

Because most vegan leather available to us at an affordable price is made of plastic and by now we know that plastic kind of just… well… sits there in landfill or floating in the ocean when we’re through with it. Which isn’t ideal for the environment or any of us living on this planet. 

Yes, technology to make faux leather out of pineapple and other non-animal biological materials exists, but production costs are still too high for most of us to be able to afford it. The good news is that, eventually, these costs will come down and we’ll be able to replace plastic leather with this more sustainable alternative.

So until that happens I’ll continue to prioritise leather over fake leather, secondhand leather over new, and also aiming to buy less leather (and everything) in general.

Top: old season designer sample sale 2019
Skirt: 2015 
Shoes: 2010 
Sunglasses: prescription 2019
Necklaces: 2017

Much love, Katie xo