From land to leather: How we make our leather
For the production of our leather, we only use hides from animals that have lived a good life on a regenerative, organic or biodynamic farm in Germany or Switzerland. We work with responsible partner tanneries that we select with the utmost care. Natural extracts from renewable resources are used in the tanning process and we do not use chemicals that are harmful to the environment. Ecological, ethical and fair production conditions are a must for us - from farming to leather.
We are convinced that in the future we will have to produce more locally if we want to combat climate change and environmental pollution. Our entire value chain is located in Germany and Switzerland. This allows us to maintain close contact with all our partners and to keep a close eye on our production processes. It helps the local economy thrive and limits our carbon footprint.
Agriculture
We enable farmers to use their animals more holistically - from nose to tail. Only about 50% of a farm animal's meat is for human consumption. The other half is processed into products such as gelatine, cosmetics (collagen), pet food or biodiesel. The hide makes up about 8% of an animal, but only about 0-1% of its value - and is often discarded.
We process hides and skins from a variety of animals, from kids to sheep and suckler cows. We collaborate with farmers to collect and preserve the hides and process them into leather, which we sell to companies, craftspeople and designers. We help the farmers to preserve and store the hides properly so that they can be used in the best way.
We pay a fair price for the hides. Our aim is not only to value the resource, but also to provide the farmers with an additional income. Upon request we produce leather or leather products on behalf of the farmers, which they can use themselves or resell.
Conservation
The hide of a living animal is protected from rotting. However, this changes from the time of slaughter. Bacterial infestation of the hide occurs immediately. To prevent the hide from rotting and irreversibly damageing to the finished leather, it should be properly preserved after removal from the animal's body.
We provide all our partners with conservation instructions and support them in the proper preservation and storage of hides and skins until collection.
In recent years, we have set up a number of collection points in several German states. The purpose of these is to store the preserved raw material away from light and weather. At regular intervals, the hides are collected by our haulier and taken directly to one of our partner tanneries.
Tanning
Depending on the properties you want the finished leather to have, we work with different tanneries in Germany. For garment leather we work with a Portuguese tannery. We select all our partners very carefully and visit them regularly. We require compliance with applicable environmental and social standards and legislation.
Tanning raw hides into finished leather is a labour-intensive and time-consuming process that requires a great deal of skill and manual labour. From dehairing to finishing, a tanner holds the hide or leather in his hand an average of 40 times.
Tanning is only part of the leather making process, but it is the most important step in leather production: It stabilises the hide so that it cannot rot. Depending on the final product, different tanning methods are used. While it is important to us that the entire leather production meets the highest environmental and social standards, vegetable tanning is our first choice. The tanning agents used in this process all derive from plants and are renewable: Extracts from wood, bark and tree fruits.
Our leather is skin-friendly, breathable and open-pored. We leave it as it is and do not finish it: rather than hide the natural characteristics, we value the uniqueness of each piece of leather. Small traces of nature remain visible, giving each piece its individuality. The leather changes over time and develops a beautiful patina.
Manufactories
We have a large network of saddleries, fine tailors, shoemakers and manufacturers in Germany and Switzerland who can make products for us - from one-offs and small series to larger orders. For leather garments we work with a partner company in Portugal, as there are no longer any sewing factories in our region with the necessary expertise.
On request, we can help our customers with product design and development. We work with several freelancers who have many years of experience in the leather industry.