Are you seeking a sustainable upholstery? Sustainable tannery may not be the first to come to mind, but with hides being a natural waste byproduct of the beef industry, leather is a fine choice. Not only is leather upholstery long-lasting, its natural beauty can be restored several times over, and it keeps hides from the meat industry out of landfills.
Now, with our new line of Pamplona leathers from Moore and Giles, the story of sustainability is extended.
Olive Green Leather, was first developed in 2006, and uses the latest technology in tanning sustainable leather fabric: wet-green® tanning. It has continued to improve since its conception, adding rich colors and varying levels of wax finishes.
This uniquely sustainable technology begins with the fallen leaves from olive trees
– an existing byproduct that has always just been collected and burned. These once-discarded leaves are then brewed in the wet-green® tanning agent, completely made 100% organic olive leaf extract. Here’s why we love this sustainable tannery option:
Olive Green leather
Most modern-day leathers are tanned with a chemical called chromium. Chrome tanned leathers provide brilliance and suppleness to leather, but it’s not required in all countries to purify the wastewater (however, the European Union, where many of our leathers are tanned does require this purification). Often this wastewater is returned back to the environment, which isn’t great for anyone.
Not so with Olive Green. We’re not joking when we say you could actually drink the tanning agent for these Olive Green sustainable leather fabrics! Not that we recommend doing so, olives are probably better for pressing, not tea.
After tanning, hides are finished with natural oils in water-soluble lacquer bases to achieve a brilliant polished surface and color transparency. Olive Green Leather joins the world of rich colors and allows a more supple hand in a sustainable leather product. Pamplona is one of the first Declare, Red List-free leather options available in the world. From raw hides preserved on ice instead of salt, to organic tanning agents, to longevity and durability of the finished hides, to finally, its ability to biodegrade, Olive Green Leathers have changed the way we think about the sustainability of upholstery leather.
This is the future of leather tanning. We can’t wait for more sustainable leather fabric and sustainable tannery like this to emerge on the market.
Take a look for yourself – Thomas Lamparter explains the Olive Green tanning process:
Pamplona stands out for its luxurious hand feel, soft wax finish and dramatic pull-up. The Chelsea Chesterfield below is in Pamplona Marigold – the dramatic pull-up adds to the dimension and depth of the hand-tufting. The soft hand of the hide has our designers reconsidering their favorite leathers.
Sustainability was such a small part of the leather story. Now with Olive Green Leathers, it’s front and center. Our designers are ready to help you make sustainable leather part of your furniture’s story.