Why leather shoes can be a more sustainable choice 

This is a sponsored article from SustainabilityTracker.com member Matilda Life.

Matilda Life‘s Founder, Jo Mercer, has spent her entire professional career as a product developer and buyer of shoes. “I love a well-made pair of shoes and how good they feel on the foot,” says Jo. “I am not a shoe snob, and only care about the quality I am buying.”

Matilda Life is working with one of the finest shoe manufacturers in Australia, Rick Angarosa from Anna Fiori. Rick and his family have Italian heritage coming to Australia in the 50’s – and their attention to detail and quality is second to none. The Matilda Life range is small and simple yet stylish, made with soft leather, complete with leather lining on a full leather sole. The full shoe is made in Australia.

Why leather, you may ask – as it is a more expensive material and is an animal product. Despite this perception, we think there are a number of reasons why you might want to consider buying a well-made, all-leather pair of shoes rather than a synthetic one: –

1. Leather allows the foot to breathe – helping keep the interior of the shoe dry.
2. Leather will mould around the foot over time – making the shoes more comfortable.
3. Leather is light, strong yet supple – it has an element of stretch making it more comfortable to wear for long periods of time. Flexibility is important for comfort.

Plus, here’s why Matilda Life’s all-leather shoes are more sustainable:

Firstly, leather takes around 40 years to biodegrade according to research, whereas a plastic non-leather shoe will take up to 1,000 years. When a leather shoe is made using polyurethane lining and sole, these non-leather materials will impact how long the shoe bio-degrades. Based on this, all-leather shoes could be a much better alternative for our planet.

Also, we have used kangaroo skin in our shoe production. The kangaroo skin we use comes from by-products of meat and culling, and would otherwise have ended up in landfill.

Lastly, our shoes go through a shorter supply change between production and distribution, as they are made locally in Australia.

Therefore, we believe it is no surprise that well-known, high-quality brands choose to make most of their shoes in full leather.

Learn more about Matilda Life’s sustainability commitments, plus our range of environmentally-conscious products, by visiting our profile.

This is an article from a SustainabilityTracker.com Member. The views and opinions we express here don’t necessarily reflect our organisation.