What Is Vegan Leather?

# What Is Vegan Leather? Luxury Activist | The Notebook LA (Luxury Activist) 3 Nov 2026 https://luxuryactivist.com/carnets/what-is-vegan-leather/ ## In brief A bag sold as vegan leather uses a material made without animal ingredients in place of hide. That might mean a coated fabric, a sheet made with plant fibres or a material grown from fungi. If I were comparing two bags on environmental grounds, I’d also want to know how long I could use each one and what I could do with it once it wore out. ## The definition Two bags can carry the same label. On one, the grain might be pressed into a coating. On the other, you might be looking at a thin layer of cork bonded to cloth. The words “vegan leather” leave room for both. Vegetable-tanned leather is easy to confuse with it. It starts with an animal hide and gets its name from the plant tannins used to treat it. ## Why people care For someone who avoids animal products, a handbag raises a question about what they’re comfortable wearing. Another shopper might be thinking about cattle farming or the chemicals used in tanning. Both may pick up the same bag for different reasons. The vegan label answers the first shopper’s question, provided it applies to the whole bag. Fashion has made these materials more visible. Gucci used Demetra on a version of its Horsebit 1955 bag presented with Billie Eilish. Stella McCartney’s collaboration with Veuve Clicquot used a material containing grape residues in accessories. Putting a new material on a familiar bag makes it easier to imagine carrying. ## The materials you’ll come across - PU and PVC. A textile is coated with polyurethane or polyvinyl chloride. A leather-like grain can be pressed into the coating. - Apple, grape and cactus composites. The plant ingredient can go into a polymer mixture spread over fabric. If a product page gives you a percentage, check what it covers. The maker might be describing just the coating or counting the fabric underneath as well. - Pineapple leaf fibres. The fibres can be assembled into a mat with a binder, then given a surface finish. The binder and finish have their own compositions. - Cork. A thin slice of bark can be bonded to fabric. The surface is cork, with a separate backing and adhesive. - Mycelium. The filaments that fungi grow can form the basis of a sheet. Some formulations use a coating or backing. ## What the law says In France, the decree on certain leather goods and similar products reserves the term cuir for material obtained from animal skin within its scope. If you’re reading a French product page, textile enduit means coated fabric. Liège means cork. The EU shoe label treats the upper, the lining and insole, and the outer sole as separate parts. The 80% rule applies to each part. For the upper and the lining and insole, it’s measured by surface area. For the outer sole, it’s measured by volume. If none reaches that threshold, the two main materials are shown. ## Is vegan leather better for the environment? Using residue from juice production can put a by-product to use. The polymer, textile backing and finish still count. Comparing those inputs with animal leather also means deciding how much of the environmental impact of raising cattle to assign to the hide, alongside meat and, where relevant, milk. That choice can change the result. Tanning and finishing count too. A comparison per square metre can tell you about production. If I’m choosing between two bags, I’d also want to know how many years I could use each one, whether it can be repaired and what can be done with it when it wears out. ## Before you buy A “vegan upper” claim applies to one part of a shoe. Check the lining, sole and adhesives if avoiding animal ingredients is your reason for buying. With a bag, I’d start at the corners. If the surface wears through, can someone repair it? I’d want that answer before deciding what to spend. ## Sources & references - French decree no. 2010-29, Légifrance: https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/ - EU Footwear Labelling Directive: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:31994L0011