Battle between Vegetable Tanned Leather VS Chrome Tanned Leather, which serves better durability?

What exactly is tanning?

First of all, let’s talk about leather tanning itself, which is in its essence, transforming animal skins into actual leather. The transformation of an animal skin into a piece of leather is mostly achieved by eliminating water molecules from the collagen of the skin, (which is the protein that the skin consists of). However when drawing out the skin might get ruined, as it gets dry and inflexible. Hence, since ancient times, (literally for thousands of years), people have been soaking the skins in natural tannins to dry the leather, which replaces the water molecules and binds with the collagen, preventing the part where the leather goes stiff and inflexible! These vegetable tannin solutions are made up of organic substance present in trees (such as oak, chestnut or mimosa), or a large number of other types of trees and plants.

Vegetable tanned leather takes up to two months to develop in a process that is mainly done by hand. It requires skill, patience and care and the tanning process uses no harmful chemicals, unlike its chrome tanned counterpart.

Environmental impacts

Unlike vegetable tanning, chrome tanners don’t get raw hides, but rather pre-treated skins put through an initial tanning process where the hides come out with a distinct bluish tinge. The basic tanning principles are the same: water molecules are removed from the collagen of the skin, but using chromium salts instead of tannins. The chrome ions displacing the water are smaller than vegetable tanning molecules which generally makes chrome tanned leather thinner and softer than vegetable tanned leather. The process is usually achieved by placing hides in acidic drums or baths, consisting of a mix of chemicals. 

Chrome tanned leather is leather produced using a solution of chemicals, acids and salts to dye the hide. It’s cheap, quick and mass produced, typically requiring little skill from the tanners.

Chrome Tanned Leather hides are actually Blue when it comes out of the Tannery! This is called ‘wet blue’. The finishing color is applied later. 

Vegetable tanned leather:

Pro:

 •  Vegetable tanned leather, using only natural tannins, has no negative environmental impact.

 •  The tanning method is ancient and requires skilled craftsmen, making vegetable tanned leather products more prestigious.

•  Due to the careful tanning process and the natural tannins, vegetable tanned leather develops a rich and beautiful patina, and actually gets better with time and use. It doesn’t crack or dry out and thus has a very long lifespan.

•  It has an earthy and natural tone and smell.

Cons:

•  Vegetable tanned leather is initially a bit stiff and has to be broken in to become fully flexible and functional.

•  The colors from vegetable tanning are not as livid as in chrome tanning and darken over time.

•  Vegetable tanned leather takes 30-60 days to produce, making the products generally more expensive.

Chrome tanned leather:

Pro:

•  Chrome tanning is quick and cheap and can be easily automated and achieved in one single day. Chrome tanned products are thus cheaper and more abundant than vegetable tanned leather products.

•  The colors of the leather remain unchanged during the product’s entire lifespan.

•  It is thinner and softer than vegetable tanned leather.

Cons:

•  The process of chrome tanning creates toxic wastewater that has detrimental environmental impact, (especially in the third world).

•  Chrome tanned products neither wears well nor lasts very long and can crack after a few months of use.

•  Chrome tanned products doesn’t appear very natural and often carries a chemical smell.

Final verdict

While vegetable tanned leather does take longer to produce, in a process requiring the care of skilled craftsmen,  making for a more expensive product, the tradition and handmade process adds to the richness and the exclusivity of vegetable tanned leather, in stark contrast to the mass produced chrome tanned leather. It also adds to vegetable tanned leather products impressive ageing and longevity, whereas the chrome tanned products will wear badly and crack sooner rather than later.

"Vegetable tanned leather is darker and more earthy, and stiff before it is worn in, which are all signs of coming from a natural tanning process."

While chrome tanned leather colors tend to be more vibrant, due to its synthetic nature there is little doubt, that for a slightly higher price, vegetable tanned leather is a far superior and earthy leather that is a joy to wear and watch develop a patina, whereas the chrome tanned leather product leaves little surprises and will deteriorate with time and use. A vegetable tanned leather will get suppler to the touch and better with use, but a chrome tanned leather product’s development will only go in one direction: towards deterioration. That is why we think vegetable tanned leather is far superior to chrome tanned leather.