Silicone is incredibly versatile, but because these products are so durable, they aren’t biodegradable. To be recycled, silicone must go to a specialized facility, and commercial recycling facilities are not common.Methods for recycling silicone have been patented since 1991, but involve highly toxic chemicals like sulfuric acid heated to high temperatures, and result in waste products that must be disposed of in landfills.
Vegan leather mimics real leather, but it's produced using artificial or plant-based materials. In many instances—particularly within fast fashion—vegan leather is produced with PVC and polyurethane. These materials are plastic and petroleum-based, so not exactly the most eco-friendly alternative. That said, vegan leather can also derive from such as cork, paper, and even and bananas. Yes, that’s right—the same ingredients used to make your morning smoothie can be used to make your handbag.Now whether or not vegan leather can really be considered “sustainable” depends on how it was made. For instance, plastic-based leather alternatives, while not directly harming animals in the production process, can still take years to degrade, which is harmful to the environment.But is that plastic pollution more detrimental than the environmental impacts of traditional leather? Not only are animals slaughtered each year for their skins and hides, but even the tanning process itself (in which hides are turned into leather) has its own negative connotations.
As with everything, vegan leather does come with a downside. First, it does not offer the same quality as genuine leather. Leather is popular for its durability and high-quality nature, which vegan leather rarely can mimic, even if it's vegan leather of the best quality. Vegan leather is also much thinner and susceptible to damage.In addition, the manufacturing process of vegan leather has the terrible but unavoidable side effect of releasing carcinogens into the environment. Also, vegan leather made with plastic containing raw materials is not biodegradable. There are vegan leathers out there made of plant-based raw materials that are biodegradable, but these also often come with a plastic coating that makes them more durable. Vegan leather made of biodegradable materials will not last very long and aren't as reliable.
Gast
