Wie wird Leder hergestellt? Die Lederherstellung

We encounter leather products everywhere in our everyday lives: from leather bags and shoes to leather jackets and the leather straps on our watches and even the leather steering wheel in our cars. Leather production is an integral part of human culture worldwide, as there is hardly any material that can compare to real leather in terms of durability and resistance. The consumption of animal meat and the processing of hides and skins goes back to the Stone Age and has been an important commodity ever since.

Nevertheless, it is important to ask how and where it comes from. Especially with super cheap leather products, the question arises as to which manufacturing methods made this price possible. Around 40 small work steps are necessary to produce leather from the perishable raw material. Given this background and the fact that leather is the skin of animals, one should consider how cheap a leather product CAN actually be.

The hides used for leather should also always be a by-product of the meat industry. Slaughtering solely for leather production, with the disposal of other valuable raw materials such as meat, is just as unacceptable as animal cruelty. Transparency is required here: Where does the leather come from, how are the animals kept, how is the leather obtained and what happens to the other raw materials?

A leather manufacturer usually buys the already tanned leather hides for further processing. The pure raw material, the animal hide, is initially a perishable, organic product. Only through processing does the raw material become a resistant and durable end product that can be made into a leather bag, shoes or a leather couch. This transformation requires a complex processing process that - depending on the type of leather and tanning process - takes several weeks to months.

1. Softening the leather

After delivery, the raw material is freed of dirt and preservative salts. It regains its original water content and is thus prepared for further processing.

2. Liming the leather

By adding lime and sulphur compounds, the raw material is freed from hair and the epidermis. In this production step, skin fibres are prepared for the binding of the tannins.

3. Fleshing the leather

Using sharp knife rollers, the subcutaneous connective tissue, meat residues and non-collagenous proteins and fatty substances are removed from the skin.

4. Splitting the leather

In this production step, the hair-side grain gap is separated from the flesh-side grain gap. The grain gap is then processed into smooth leather, and the flesh gap is processed into suede, for example.

5. The Naughty

The resulting pelt is the "naked" skin, which is then processed into leather during the tanning process. This pure collagen is a fibrous connective tissue protein that is particularly stable and durable due to its three-dimensional fiber network.

6. Pickling, pickling and tanning of leather

The pelt is then prepared again in a rotating barrel with acid and salt and then mixed in an aqueous environment with the tanning agent required to produce the final product. During the tanning process, the leather is preserved and becomes resistant to rot and heat stress.

7. Wilting of the leather

The leather is then dewatered through huge rollers.

8. Sorting the leather

The transformation of raw animal skin into leather is complete. The leather is now sorted according to various quality criteria before it goes on to further processing.

9. Folding the leather

In this production step, the leather is again pulled through huge rollers, which bring the grain leather to a uniform thickness.

10. Wet finishing

The acid added for tanning is neutralized. The leather is then dyed and greased. The processing methods vary depending on the type of leather.

11. Drying the leather

During the wilting and stretching process, stored water is removed from the leather fibers, the leather is smoothed and pinned. It is then dried using an appropriate drying process depending on the type of leather.

12. Studs of the leather

Drying causes the leather fibers to stick together. To loosen these, the leather is machine-tumbled.

13. Hydrophorbization

During this manufacturing step, the leather is impregnated against water and dirt, depending on its intended use.

14. Preparing the leather

During the dry finishing process, the leather is given its final appearance using various mechanical and chemical treatments. This is where the decision is made as to whether the leather should have a shiny or matte surface and a smooth or grained surface. By printing or embossing the leather, the appearance can be changed significantly and adapted to current fashions or customer preferences.

15. Final inspection

Before the leather is dispatched and begins its journey to the leather goods manufacturer, it undergoes a final inspection. This ensures that all requirements were met during production. The leather is then sorted according to its quality characteristics, measured, packaged and shipped.