In our educational blog post from October 2020, 'Should Tanned Leather Be Called ‘Natural’'? we promised a part two to this topic, exploring the  impact of intensive animal agriculture on the environment - and how this has a direct link to the profitable co-products that are outputs of slaughter when it comes to measuring impact on the earth.  We asked Emma Hakansson, founder of Collective Fashion Justice + Willow Creative Co, to pen the article, given her extensive research + work in this space.  Emma dives into the environmental impacts of industrial animal farming + the requisite co-product of leather. 

A few weeks ago, we threw a notion out into the universe that perhaps all this talk about leather being the 'natural' option when it comes to fashion, was not entirely true.  We said we'd discuss the manufacturing, the environmental impact, the biodegradability, and yes, even the ethics around the industrial level raising of animals on the planet.  We asked our community if they wanted to know more.  The answer was a resounding YES.  Co-authored by Cathryn Wills + Emma Hakansson, with as much research as they could gather to illustrate the point that 'faux' may be a dirty word to many, but modern leather has its own grubby secrets.

Cathryn shares what goes into a Sans Beast bag, what value means to her – and ultimately, why creating pieces without animal products is important to the Sans Beast brand.  Ethics + sustainability often get used in an interchangeable manner - yet, they're different.  The ethics of mass raising + slaughtering animals is questionable at best.  Read on to learn what value + ethics mean to the Sans Beast founder.