PETA APPROVED VEGAN

Our path to vegan leather

A clear principle

Many people still consider genuine leather to be the best choice. It is considered robust and durable - and therefore sustainable. But in the interests of sustainability, shouldn't we simply consume less and choose ethical, animal-friendly alternatives?

How can we be sustainable and animal-friendly?

This question has occupied us for a long time. We visited the Italian leather trade fair in Milan, we exchanged ideas with tanneries about their latest processes, talked to product developers and sustainable brands, looked at plant-based leather alternatives and tested them based on our needs.

During this time, it became increasingly clear to us that every choice of material brings with it its own strengths and challenges. The answer lay in a very fundamental decision: what values are most important to us as a brand? And then we weighed up the pros and cons of each material:

Vegan leather

In recent years, the term 'vegan leather' has become a common term. It is used both at trade fairs and by recognized organizations such as PETA. This material not only looks like animal leather, but also feels like it, which is why the term 'leather' is still used as a reference. The key difference, of course, is that the material is completely free of animal components. For example, the use of animal glues or binders is also avoided.
Vegan leather can be made from polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane or, for example, purely plant-based components such as pineapple leaves, cork, corn, apple peels, grapes and other fruit waste. At first glance, this sounds very tempting, were it not for the fact that some of these plant-based alternatives require valuable agricultural land that could otherwise be used to produce food for local people. In addition, many of these purely plant-based solutions are not robust enough, so they cannot be used for our products. And you would think that plant-based qualities would completely avoid chemical ingredients, right? Unfortunately, these are usually PU-coated to refine their surface with a water-repellent, scratch-resistant layer. So although the products are vegan, they are unfortunately not as sustainable as they seem at first glance.

Genuine leather

It is a widespread assumption that leather is a waste product of the meat industry. However, a large proportion of raw hides now come from Asia and Latin America because the demand for leather is still increasing. On the one hand, this means unnecessarily long transport routes from breeding, to tanning, to further processing and finally to distribution. On the other hand, special care is taken during breeding for leather production to ensure that the animal hides remain as free as possible from scratches or even wounds. For the animals, this means no exercise and poor living conditions.
The production of genuine leather also involves numerous challenges. Firstly, production is extremely resource-intensive. This applies both to the large area required for animal husbandry and the considerable amount of energy required for further processing. Another significant factor is the high water consumption. Just imagine: an incredible 500 liters of water are needed to tan one square meter of leather.
One of the most common tanning processes is chrome salt tanning. The problem here is that these salts can oxidize to carcinogenic chromium VI (in high heat, such as in shop windows). This can cause severe allergies. More environmentally friendly, vegetable tanning processes do exist, but are often not used because they are more expensive and only allow for a very limited, earthy color palette.

Our conclusion

Real leather is often seen as robust and durable, but it brings with it significant ethical and environmental challenges - from animal husbandry to resource-intensive production processes.

Vegetable-based vegan leather offers an animal-friendly alternative, but in practice it still shows weaknesses in terms of durability and the often necessary use of chemical additives.

After carefully considering all the options, we have therefore consciously chosen a high-quality vegan PU leather that meets our high standards of quality and durability. This material not only respects animal welfare, but also enables us to create fashionable products that offer you versatile colors and structures while having as little impact on nature as possible.

Our decision is based on the belief that we can make you the most beautiful, highest quality products out of PU leather right now, without harming a single animal - or losing sight of new innovations.

What does PETA-Approved mean?

We are proud of this very conscious decision. MRSÉY is officially "PETA-Approved Vegan"!

The "PETA-Approved Vegan" certification is a rigorous testing procedure in which our products and their manufacturing processes are checked for the absence of animal ingredients and animal testing.

DISCOVER PRODUCTS

Our vegan leather types

When we founded MRSÉY, we wanted to offer you not only a functional iPhone case, but also a fashion accessory. While other cases made of silicone, plastic or rubber look very sporty and technical, we wanted to offer you a more feminine alternative. Something that you can wear at work and in your free time, that fits well into your look and allows you to respond to different trends.

Lambskin

As the name suggests, the lambskin structure is based on lambskin nappa. Thanks to its smooth surface, vegan leather with a lambskin look is particularly suitable for seasonal, intense colors. Here, no conspicuous embossing of the color steals the show and it can be shown off particularly cleanly and without shading.

Pebbled

Pebbled leather looks exactly as its name suggests. In keeping with classic cowhide, it has a finely structured surface. Thanks to its classic look, major bag designers like to use pebbled leather for their casual lines, hobo bags and softly constructed shapes. It is soft, falls particularly beautifully and is therefore particularly feminine.

Saffiano

Even in the case of genuine leather, Saffiano is not a natural grain, but an artificially embossed surface structure. Its characteristic cross-hatching is fixed with the help of varnish. Saffiano was originally developed by Prada. But gradually other brands have developed their own relief prints.

Croco

As you can probably imagine, the croco structure imitates the natural grain of crocodile leather. If you like something a little more eye-catching, the croco embossing is the right choice for you. The imitation of the different sized skin plates as well as the shiny-matt play and the different shades bring a lot of movement to your look.

lizard

Inspired by nature, the different scale sizes of a lizard give this grain a special depth and elegance. In contrast to the crocodile embossing, the structure of the lizard seems a little more graphic and is ideal for subtle colors, to which it gives a special depth. Particularly edgy, it gives classic, supposedly boring colors that certain something.

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