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With automakers fighting to meet sustainability regulations, there's been a large focus on sourcing and producing sustainable materials for car interiors.
Many car companies are veering away from using genuine leather and other animal-derived materials in their premium models , and are opting for vegan replacements, such as leatherette and other synthetic materials. But, is vegan leather really sustainable?
Most leather alternatives you'll find in the fashion industry are petroleum-based products. but, g enerally speaking, synthetic leathers for cars are made from some plastic or vinyl derivative, made to look and feel like the real deal. Obviously, different manufacturers will have different ways of achieving this, and the end result will vary depending on the price range of the vehicle.
And while vegan leather may be more "sustainable" than using animal skin, a report by the New York Times pointed out that the label "vegan" implies "sustainable" products, but that isn't always the case.
Vegan leather is typically made of plastic, which isn't renewable, it can add to the burden on landfills and the build-up of ocean microplastics.
In the case of the fashion industry, vegan leather is often used in "fast fashion", which is clothing with an extremely high turnover, is cheaply made, and materials and labour are sourced as cheaply as possible. So, a lot of these clothing items end up quickly finding their way to landfill and oceans.
But in the case of the automotive industry, vehicles often have a much longer life span, as motorists will own the same car for years.
This is particularly true for electric vehicles. Vegan leather is all the rage amongst EV automakers. All Tesla cars are animal leather-free, as are the Rivian R1T and Volvo C40 Recharge. And lots of other cars have vegan leather as an option, like in the Mazda MX-30. All of these vehicles make their vegan leather from plastic - which, ultimately, means using oil.
But while using oil to produce plastic interiors isn't renewable or sustainable, the environmental impact of a few hundred barrels of crude oil is a more manageable loss than a hectare of rainforest.
It was reported last year by the New York Times that large portions of Amazon are being deforested to use as cattle farms for Brazil's extensive leather industry. This leather is then used in many luxury vehicles.
Oil also isn't burned when it's used to make plastic, meaning it doesn't release (as much) carbon as gasoline.
A 2019 report said that companies such as Ford and General Motors could make a meaningful difference to the planet and deforestation if they stopped using leather from deforested areas.
Ford's 2020 sustainability report mentions deforestation in the context of rubber sourcing, but there's no mention at all of leather sourcing. The same goes for Ford's 2021 sustainability document.
Similarly, GM has had a policy about deforestation when it comes to rubber sourcing since 2017 but doesn't appear to have one for leather either.
Automakers such as Mercedes seem to be on the right track though when it comes to sustainability, with the Mercedes Vision EQXX using cactus leather in its interior. The company Mercedes is using is called Deserttex, and it is also partnering with BMW to develop concepts. Mercedes wants its fleet to be made up of an average of 40 percent recycled materials.
Markus Schäfer, Mercedes’ chief technology officer, says “our vision is to transform our entire value chain into as closed a loop as possible.”
“Our series-production vehicles already contain a large number of recycled materials. Within the next ten years, we will increase the share of secondary raw materials in our passenger car fleet to an average of 40 percent.”
This will include processes we're already familiar with, such as materials made of fishing materials and PET bottles, as well as the use of chemical recycling. This allows things like used tires and other difficult-to-recycle plastics to be broken down into their chemical components and then re-produced into new materials.
Mercedes is also exploring the use of UBQ, which is a material made from converted mixed household waste, and a partially CO2-based foam called polyol. Polyol is an automotive-grade polyurethane foam that can be used in rear seat cushions for example. Up to 20 percent of the material is chemically bound carbon dioxide that would otherwise go into the atmosphere.
Other interesting materials the automaker is considering include carpets made from bamboo fibres and a silk-like material that's totally free of animal products.
Calculations are based on an interest rate of 10% per annum over a 3 year term with no deposit. This budget tool is intended as a guide and starting point only and is not in any way a finance quotation. Please refer here for our site terms.
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