By Porter Lang
Leather is skin, and tanning is what keeps it from rotting. There is more than one way to do it.
Wikipedia’s article on tanning says vegetable tanning uses natural tannins from plants, and lists chestnut, oak, redoul, tanoak, hemlock, quebracho, mangrove, wattle and myrobalans. It says hides are immersed for several weeks in vats of increasing concentrations of tannin, and that chrome tanning, by contrast, takes less than a day. It says hides may stay in tannin baths for weeks or months. These are the encyclopedia’s figures, and a tannery’s own description should come first.
What the process gives you
The same article says the process makes leather less water-soluble and more resistant to bacterial attack, and that vegetable-tanned hide is not very flexible compared with chrome-tanned hide. It says that makes the leather suitable for luggage, furniture, footwear, belts and other accessories. It says the leather darkens gradually with exposure and age, developing a patina. We can say what the sources say. We cannot say how any particular leather will wear, because that depends on the hide, the tanner and the use.
A slow method with a cost
The article also says tanning can produce chemical oxygen demand and dissolved solids in water when chemicals are not disposed of responsibly, and that the process uses large quantities of water and produces large amounts of pollutants. It describes vegetable tanning as the original method, predating chrome tanning, which emerged in the nineteenth century. So the older method is not automatically the cleaner one, and the article makes no claim that it is. If a seller says a leather is “eco” or “natural,” ask what they mean.
Tuscany
The Consorzio Vera Pelle Italiana Conciata al Vegetale describes itself, in its own magazine, as a non-profit organisation with 22 affiliated tanneries, all in the Tuscan leather district. It says it is headquartered in San Miniato, in the province of Pisa.
What the consortium says about itself
The consortium’s own website says it was established in 1994 by Tuscan tanners and now has over 20 member tanneries between Pisa and Florence. It calls itself the guarantor and ambassador of Tuscan excellence. It says its labels carry anti-counterfeiting features that let a buyer trace both the tannery and the maker of the finished product. It describes its activities as sponsoring research, running educational events, offering tannery tours and holding workshops for emerging designers. Its magazine also says the tanneries share methods that blend innovation with ancient techniques that cannot be replicated elsewhere. That last phrase is promotional, and we are attributing it, not endorsing it.
The two pages give slightly different member counts, 22 and over 20. We are reporting both, and neither is an independent source.
What the consortium certifies
The consortium says it established a quality trademark, Pelle Conciata al Vegetale in Toscana, which it says guarantees the quality of the raw materials and processes used. It says the whole productive process in its qualifying phases must be made in Tuscany, with strict chemical and physical standards. It says guarantee labels, progressively numbered and recorded, must be applied to the finished products, and that an outside body, ICEC, audits compliance. That is the consortium’s account of its own scheme. We have not seen the specification, and we do not know how many items carry the label.
Reading the label
Two things stand out. First, the mark is about where the work was done, in Tuscany, and about standards the consortium sets. It does not, on this account, tell you where the hide came from. The magazine does not say, and we are not guessing. Second, the numbered labels are meant to be traceable. A number you can ask about is a better sign than a general claim.
Questions for a seller
We have not profiled any tannery, workshop or shop, and we will not name one we cannot source. Here is a short list. Is the leather vegetable-tanned or chrome-tanned? How long did tanning take? Was the tanning done in Tuscany? Does the product carry the consortium’s numbered label, and can the number be checked? Where did the hide come from? Who made the finished item? These are questions we would ask ourselves.
Wear and care
Because Wikipedia says the leather develops patina with age, you should expect it to change. If a seller promises it will stay the same, treat that as a question to ask. We have no sourced care instructions to give, and we will not invent any. Ask the maker.
A note on what we do not know
The consortium’s pages that we could read do not give production volumes or detail on the tanning methods its members use. Other pages on its site may. We have not read them all. For now, the useful facts are the ones above: a slow process, a Tuscan trademark, numbered labels and an outside audit.
If you visit
The consortium’s magazine says it and its tanneries promote the leather through visits to tanneries and to traditional artisan workshops, as well as seminars, exhibitions and publications. We have not checked whether any tannery visit is open to the public, or how one would be booked. If a visit is offered, ask what you will see, which stage of the work is shown and who will explain it.
Certification versus claim
It helps to separate two kinds of statement. A certification says that a rule exists and that someone checks it. A claim says that something is good. The consortium describes both, and so does most marketing. What the label can add is a number you can ask about, and a named auditor. That is a narrower promise than it sounds, and it is worth more for being narrow.
Roam first. Shop later.
Tuscan leather makers can find out what’s involved at /sell-with-sephari/