Company insight

Who says leather is

harmful to the planet?
The recent New Point of View fair in Milan was the venue for the launch of a new project that
will put sustainability at the heart of the leather industry. Having drawn criticism for its environmental
credentials for many years, the industry will be able to show that it has listened, understood and
responded. Antonio Battaglia, BU leather director at Silvateam, tells us why Ecotan is different
to anything that has gone before.

“The leather industry has been under

attack, so we needed to do something,”
says Antonio Battaglia, co-owner and BU
leather director at Silvateam. “Leather
has a bad reputation and some consumers
even think that plastic is a sustainable
product when compared with leather.
“Some believe aluminium, chrome
and other substances used in tanning are
not safe to use, though that is not clear,”
he adds. “So, we have used tannins and
very safe synthetic polymers as the pillars
of Ecotan.”

Unlocking the power

of natural tannins
Silvateam, based in Italy, is a leading
producer of plant-based extracts with a
history stretching back to 1854. Creating
natural and sustainable products for
applications in leather tanning, animal
health and nutrition, food, beverages and
Ecotan leathers are based on natural tannins and sustainable polymers, and they can be turned into many other industrial uses, the company
high-quality, slow-release organic fertiliser at the end of a product’s life. has more than 10,000 customers in 60
countries for its vegetable tanning, wet-

I
t has become popular in recent
years to bash the leather industry
with claims that it is harmful to the
environment, that it puts workers in
tanneries at risk of exposure to harmful
chemicals, that it pollutes and promotes
waste. Yet it remains a multibillion-dollar
global industry. Demand for leather
remains high and, as a material, its
qualities are hard to match.
Leather is unique, combining toughness
and textural qualities that make it sought
after for both heavy-use applications and
high fashion. Nevertheless, negative media
coverage – especially around issues of
its environmental impact – are having an
effect on the perception of leather in the
public arena.
Within the industry, some condemn white and wet-blue tanning products.
that criticism as unjust, while others “We are moving towards substituting
listen and think about how the leather what are seen as ‘bad’ chemicals with
sector can evolve. Among the latter natural, sustainable chemicals,” says
is Silvateam, a company that creates Battaglia. “We deliver the same technical
plant-based chemicals and has a long properties with natural molecules that
association with leather. Its latest have been tested over centuries.”
“Leather has a bad reputation and some consumers
even think that plastic is a sustainable product
when compared with leather.”
innovation, Ecotan, recognises that The company believes that nature is
sustainability is increasingly a major our partner, not the enemy. It believes
factor in consumers’ purchasing decisions that responsibly sourced hides paired with
and enables leather producers to respond bio-circular tannins are part of a better
to that change. future. That is why it has based Ecotan

Leather International / www.leathermag.com 35

 Company insight
on tannins – natural substances found
in plants that guard against the effects
of harmful microbes – to prevent leather
from decomposing.
These natural tannins are sourced from
bark, leaves, wood, fruits or roots. In
Ecotan, chestnut and quebracho wood,
tara pods and gallnuts are the key raw
materials used to extract tannins.
Simple to extract without the use of
chemicals, these tannins are the basis of
a product range that can not only be used
in every traditional tannery, but also can
dramatically reduce the environmental
impact of the tanning process.
Ecotan enables leather to be part of the
‘cradle-to-cradle’ (C2C) process. This is
a biomimetic process in which the design
of products and systems are modelled
on nature's processes. All materials are
viewed as nutrients circulating within a
healthy and safe natural cycle, equivalent
to the metabolism of a living creature.
“We use harmless products that are sustainable
and simple to source, and create characteristics
that are in line with traditional leather processes.”
As a result, Ecotan creates a
sustainable life cycle. First, leather
is made from animal hides, natural
tannins and other sustainable chemicals
to deliver the same performance of
chrome and glutaraldehyde tanning.
During its lifetime, the resulting
leather has the same desirable qualities
as material produced by traditional
tanning methods.
“Our technical department arrived
at a real breakthrough,” says Eric
Poles, Silvateam’s sales director. “Our
technology uses no products that are
dangerous or unsustainable. In fact,
many of the substances we use are food-
grade. We can reproduce the qualities of
leather for any application, whether it is
used in car upholstery, shoes, fashion or
anything else.
“Furthermore, this creates the first
leather that is recyclable,” he adds.
“We use harmless products that are
sustainable and simple to source, and
create characteristics that are in line
with traditional leather processes.”
An afterlife for leather
The truly remarkable advance that Ecotan
delivers, however, comes at the end of
a leather product’s useful life. Finished
36
leather articles and leather scraps are
turned into organic fertilisers, returning
to nature and enriching the soil.
“All Ecotan shavings and cuttings,
as well as leather components that have
reached the end of their life, can be
turned into a high-quality, slow-release
fertiliser that can be certified organic,”
Battaglia explains.
“Biodegradable materials create
CO2,” notes Poles. “With Ecotan, we can
recover the product to create fertiliser,
which does not create any additional
CO2. Another benefit is that it creates
better health and safety in tanneries, as
workers have less exposure to potentially
harmful chemicals.”
All Ecotan tannins have undergone a
C2C analysis technique to assess their
environmental impacts. In fact, Silvateam
was the first in the industry to certify
the carbon footprint value of its products.
Furthermore, it is the first company
producing leather tanning products
to be awarded the Programme for the
Endorsement of Forest Certification
(PEFC) for its production of chestnut
and quebracho tannins.
In the design of Ecotan, the goal was
to emulate the quality of conventional
leather while addressing questions
around sustainability within the tanning
process. In fact, Ecotan leather can
be considered not only equivalent to
conventional leather but may, in fact,
be superior in some ways.
Used in shoes, it not only breathes but
actively absorbs, then moves perspiration
moisture away from the foot and out of
the shoe. It acts as an evapo-transpirative
material, actively wicking away moisture.
It also helps to eliminate odour, as the
tannins create an adverse environment
where bacteria can’t develop. In this way,
the natural biome of the foot is preserved,
which is not the case with most lining
in shoes today, as bad smells testify to
the huge growth of bad bacterias inside
shoes. The result is a more comfortable
experience for the wearer, which enables
footwear producers to improve their
value proposition.
“With the four tannins we use, the
leather looks nice, smells nice and uses
raw materials that are readily available
and sustainable,” says Battaglia. “We chose
them so that no leather producers could
question the sustainability of Ecotan. We
use harmless products. None of them had
to go through the REACH testing because
they are all traditionally harmless.”
A better future born in a pandemic
To create Ecotan, Silvateam worked
with 20 tanneries and recycling partners.
Battaglia and his team actively sought
engagement from partners across the
whole supply chain. They succeeded
in bringing not only small, high-quality
craftsmen into the development
process, but also some of the world’s
largest tanneries.
Thanks to a close collaboration with
Pete Lankford, a world-renowned expert
in sustainable shoes, and with industry
partners to build on the innovative ideas
of its product development team, the
company was able to move rapidly from
concept to final product, with the Ecotan
range ready for launch as the industry
prepares for a post-pandemic world.
Back in the spring, with much of Europe
in lockdown and many regions around
the world still imposing restrictions on
travel because of Covid-19, Silvateam
seized the opportunity to focus on product
development. With tanneries closed and
the industry at a standstill, there was
room to look at how the industry could
change for the better and come back
stronger than before.
Using that time to talk to partners
across the supply chain – including the
fertiliser producer – and to exchange
ideas, the company was able to examine
the key challenges arising from the tanning
process and understand the criticisms
levelled at the industry from outside.
It was in this period that innovation was
able to flourish.
The story of Ecotan is first and foremost
one of sustainability, but it is also born of
creativity, collaboration and a love of the
leather industry.
“Working together, we have created a
product that addresses all of the concerns
that people have about the leather
industry,” says Battaglia. “Many of the
top names in the industry have already
jumped into the project. We need to stop
the shift in public opinion that is driving
people away from leather.” ●
www.ecotanleather.com
Leather International / www.leathermag.com