We’re all trying to do our bit to help the environment. If you are looking to buy new leather furniture from Florida Leather Gallery, you might be asking if your old furniture can be recycled. Or, what about that old jacket that has been well-loved for too many years?
Can Leather be Recycled?
In most cases, yes. Post-consumer leather can be recycled, and scraps and offcuts from manufacturing can and are also recycled. (In fact, most recycled leather products are made from offcuts, as this is easier to recycle. However, you absolutely can recycle your old leather goods, including shoes and purses. Unfortunately, this can sometimes be a challenge. Some manufacturers will take leather goods for recycling, including ones they did not make.
Another alternative with old leather items is donation or reuse. Any item in decent condition can be donated to a local thrift store. This includes shoes that need minimal repair. Make sure you clean items before donating them, especially leather jackets. Another great way to get rid of worn leather is to talk to artists and crafty types. Many people in the “maker” community can take your worn leather and make something out of it or even teach you how to reuse it. Worn out leather furniture often has quite a lot of good leather on it that can be made into smaller items such as planter slings, belts, etc.
Completely worn leather should be taken to a recycling center or a manufacturer of similar items. Call the center first to find out if they take leather and if so what types. Consider removing fittings that you can reuse yourself or want to keep (for example, a fancy belt buckle may well outlive the belt it is attached to).
How is Leather Recycled?
The process of creating recycled leather is a fairly simple one. The collected leather scraps are ground into shreds, combined with water and then mixed with some kind of binding product…often natural rubber. This pulp can then be rolled out into sheets and processed to make it look like “virgin” leather.
Recycled leather can be made in a variety of colors and thicknesses and can then be worked into finished goods in much the same way as virgin leather.
How Does Recycled Leather Differ From Virgin Leather?
Recycled leather tends to be cheaper than virgin leather, but is often hard to distinguish visually. It does, however, tend to have lower durability. It’s sometimes sold as “bonded” leather, although not all bonded leather is recycled and it may have a relatively low percentage of recycled material. Recycled leather is generally better for lower stress applications such as cheap belts. Saving money now by buying a recycled leather couch is likely to cost you more later as it will not last as long and is very hard to repair. You are better off with a genuine leather sofa. However, if the item is mostly cosmetic, most people will not be able to tell the difference.
All-in-all, you are better saving your money and buying genuine leather, using recycled leather only for items that are under less stress. That said, recycling leather as much as possible is good for the environment and reduces the number of animals needed to supply the demand for leather.
All of our leather seating in Tampa is made from genuine leather, with a variety of colors and styles available. To find out more about genuine leather sofas, contact Florida Leahter Gallery today. We have sofas, loveseats, chairs, sleepers, etc in a variety of styles and colors, all made with genuine virgin leather.
