Leather Sandals, Ethics and Sustainability

When we decided to make leather sandals we had a few reservations about what type of leather we would use. In particular, how we could find leather that was ethical and sustainable. We conducted a lot of research to find materials that answered this need. Leather is definitely a controversial topic as issues regarding animal welfare, how the leather is harvested, how it is treated and distributed is an issue for both customers and manufacturers alike. With materials ranging from traditional bovine or lambskin or using non-leather, man-made product we wanted to use something that was more responsible to the environment that we could trace from harvest through to finishing. Thus, we decided to use kangaroo leather as the base of our leather sandals as this leather ticked the majority of the boxes we were looking for: sustainable, strong, long lasting and local.

Kangaroo leather is one of the strongest yet lightweight leathers in the world. This leather is harvested sustainably and managed by the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population & Communities here in Australia with strict controls, quotas and monitoring to ensure this harvest is maintained to a high standard, based on principles of sustainability as well as ensuring conservation of the species. Furthermore, as kangaroos are native to Australia, they cause no harm to the environment. We have gone one step further and ensured that we only use vegetable tanned leather which utilises naturally occurring material to colour leathers. Thus, there is little to no impact on the natural environment and the people who produce it. 

For more information, you can go here to read about how the Australian government regulates the harvesting of this leather.