But is vegan leather really a better option than real leather?
We've asked ourselves that very question. It isn't in our nature to make decisions on principle alone — we're open and curious by default, and if there's a way to do better what we already do, we try it.
There's a lot of talk these days about leathers made from plant-based raw materials. So a while back, we decided to give it a go: we tested cactus leather, one of the most advanced solutions available today.
In this article, we'll tell you how it went — and how it shaped our work and our whole idea of "sustainability".
- What do we actually mean by vegan leather?
- Cactus vegan leather: we put it to the test
- Our choice: real leather, upcycled and vegetable-tanned
- Our answer, today
What do we actually mean by vegan leather?
Before we tell you about our experience, let's pause for a moment to clear something up — because terms like “plant-based leather”, “faux leather”, “vegan leather” are often used loosely, as though they were synonyms, when in fact they describe materials that can be very different from one another.
A "vegan leather" is defined as such simply because no animal derivatives are involved in its production. But that definition also covers leather alternatives that have nothing "plant-based" about them (and nothing eco-friendly, either).
Take the most common "faux leather" (or synthetic leather), the kind we've all known for years and find just about everywhere, made essentially of plastic derived from petroleum (PU or PVC). It's a decidedly humble material, one that doesn't last long (it damages easily), yet once discarded stays in the environment for hundreds of years. And as it wears down with use, it releases highly polluting microplastics.
Then there are the "plant-based leathers" (not to be confused with real vegetable-tanned leather): biomaterials made from plant raw materials — cactus, apple waste, mushroom mycelium. This is where the most interesting innovation is happening, and it's the area we focused on.
A word of caution, though: even here, we're not talking about a 100% plant-based material. We'll come back to that.
Cactus vegan leather: we put it to the test
So, back to our test: we ordered cactus leather from one of the leading international suppliers, and put it under scrutiny.
We had two main questions:
- is cactus leather suitable for our boots?
- could using it move us forward towards ever more sustainable production?
Here's what we found.
Cactus vegan leather has limits when it's worked
Building a handmade boot involves demanding, delicate stages — like shaping the toe — that require high temperatures. This is something real leather handles without any trouble: it moulds, it adapts, it holds.
Cactus leather, on the other hand, didn't hold up: under heat and tension the material tended to tear.
At most we could have used it as a decorative detail, on a small section, but not as a structural part of a boot built to last for years. A boot that doesn't last is not, by definition, a sustainable object.
There's plastic in "plant-based" leather too
All plant-based leathers (with the exception of a few very niche, expensive materials that aren't found in mass-market production) still contain a percentage of plastic — cactus leather included.
According to independent analyses, the actual proportion of plant content ranges between 30% and 65% of the final material, to which plastic polymers are added as binders (usually PU), needed to obtain a flexible, durable, workable sheet that resembles leather. As things stand today, it's a necessary compromise that can't be avoided.
Plant-based, yes — biodegradable, no
This combination of plant powder and plastic binders brings a significant limitation: not even plant-based leathers like cactus are truly biodegradable.
Since the plant can't be separated from the plastic, these materials aren't recyclable and don't return to the earth at the end of their life, ending up feeding the problem of waste disposal.
Our choice: real leather, upcycled and vegetable-tanned
After this trial, one conviction grew stronger: for us sustainability isn't about chasing the latest material everyone's talking about, but making concrete, consistent choices — even when they're less eye-catching.
As things stand, we know that perfect sustainability doesn't exist. Every material leaves its mark on the planet: if it wins on one front, it loses on another.
But after testing the alternatives, we understood what matters to us: we want to make boots that aren't "throwaway", that don't become waste after a few months and that, once they reach the end of their life, don't weigh on the environment.
That's why we continue to use real leather, making deliberate choices about where it comes from.
Upcycled real leather: a circular material
Our leathers are "upcycled", meaning recovered from the by-products of the food industry. So they don't come from animals raised for the sole purpose of producing leather: the hides already exist and, instead of becoming waste, are given new life in the form of a boot.
Vegetable-tanned leather: true biodegradability
Our leathers are strictly vegetable-tanned, and therefore free from the chrome salts and heavy metals used in industrial tanning.
Vegetable tanning draws on the natural tannins found in bark, wood and leaves, and the result is a leather that keeps its purity and its biodegradability: at the end of its life, it really can return to the earth.
LWG-certified tanneries
To guarantee all of this, we work only with LWG-certified partner tanneries, which follow controlled processes to minimise the environmental impact of every stage of leather processing.
It isn't the easiest path, nor the most on-trend. But it's the one we believe in: a sustainability made of real substance, not promises.
Our answer, today
Let's return to the question we started with: is vegan leather a better option than real leather?
The answer — for our world of quality handmade cowboy boots, for the way we work and for how we understand sustainability today — is no. But it isn't a closed answer.
We'll keep looking around with the same curiosity as always, keeping ourselves informed about innovative materials with an open, critical mind.
Because sustainability, for us, isn't a word to show off: it's a balance to build every day, with honesty. One step (and one boot) at a time.