Vegetabile Gerbung
What is it and how does it work?
Was ist eine vegetabile Gerbung?
Vegetable tanning is the oldest method of leather production . This type of tanning is over 5,000 years old. For many centuries, vegetable tanning was the predominant method of tanning . Today, vegetable tanning processes have largely been replaced by the less time-consuming and more effective chrome tanning. Only ten to twelve percent of leather is now tanned using vegetable tanning. Increasing environmental awareness has brought vegetable tanning back into focus. For example, purely vegetable-tanned natural leather can be safely returned to the natural cycle when it decays.
HOW DOES VEGETABLE TANNING WORK?
In order to make the leather durable and supple, vegetable tanning uses – as the name suggests – plant-based substances. These are obtained from oak or spruce bark, tara pods, olive leaves, quebracho wood, rhubarb roots or mimosa bark, for example. The active substances found in these plant species are called “tannins”. They are produced and stored by the plants to ward off predators. Up to 300 plant species worldwide are able to produce these active substances.
Vegetable tanning used to be carried out in a pit. The rawhide was placed in it, tan (bark and roots) was sprinkled over it, then another hide. The tanning process then took up to 8 months. Today, most hides are tanned in barrels that resemble giant washing machines.
The properties of the finished natural leather are determined by the acidity of the broth used to tan it. Acidic tanning broths, together with a sufficiently long tanning time, can produce a relatively firm leather product. Softer leather can be obtained with sweet broths.
Why isn’t all leather vegetable tanned?
Tanning with vegetable agents is generally considered more expensive than chrome tanning. Vegetable tanning is comparatively complex: up to 30 kilograms of bark or 20 kilograms of fruit are needed to tan a single hide. The production time for vegetable-tanned leather is several weeks. With chrome tanning, animal hides can be processed into leather in just a few days.
coloring of vegetable-tanned leather
A brownish or tan colour is characteristic of vegetable-tanned natural leather. Factors such as light, moisture and greasing can influence the colour of the undyed leather. The moister and more greasy the leather, the darker it is. The leather, on the other hand, becomes lighter the drier it is. Therefore, you should regularly treat your vegetable-tanned leather products with the appropriate care products.
WHAT PROPERTIES DOES VEGETABLE TANNED LEATHER HAVE?
Purely vegetable-tanned leather is particularly breathable and skin-friendly. It is therefore particularly suitable for people who are allergic to chrome, people with sensitive skin and children.
Leather that has been vegetable tanned is also particularly easy to work with. The cut pieces hardly warp during production. However, the leather is generally harder than chrome-tanned leather. Modern processing techniques make it almost impossible to distinguish vegetable-tanned leather from chrome-tanned leather.
The tanning methods are often combined with one another. For example, a combination of 70 percent chrome tanning and 30 percent vegetable tanning can result in the chrome-tanned leather warping less during processing. Tanning with 40 percent chrome and 60 percent vegetable tanning agents makes the vegetable-tanned leather softer.
How environmentally friendly is vegetable tanning?
Although vegetable tanning in its pure form does not require any chemicals, it is not automatically more environmentally friendly than chrome tanning. The reason for this is the high energy consumption of the comparatively complex tanning process. However, vegetable-tanned leather remains a purely natural product that can be 100 percent returned to the natural cycle, while chrome-tanned leather is not biodegradable and requires special disposal.
How environmentally friendly vegetable tanning is depends very much on the tanning process and tanning agent used, and also on whether the leather is treated with chemicals during the retanning process.
The most sustainable leather product is definitely the one that you keep and care for for a lifetime. With the right leather care, BRAUN BÜFFEL leather goods become lifelong companions.
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