|
“A |
rose, is a rose, is a rose,” wrote Gertrude Stein, but green is not always ”green.” Some of you have asked if Groove’s green. The answer is yes.
The industry has been chromium tanning leather for 150 years. Chromium tannages speed up the production cycle over vegetable tanning (the thousands year old method for tanning leather), and it allows colors to be absorbed more effectively. Far more recently, there’s been a quiet call for chrome-free tanning by the interior design trade, whereby chromium chemicals are removed from the process.
Look at the leathers in any designer’s resource library or at a showroom near you, and I can confidently say the vast majority of the leathers are chromium-based (some are chromium tanned with a vege-retan). Chromium tanning remains the industry standard, and the handling of chromium waste is well understood. The factories Groove uses (including it’s domestic facility) has on-site waste treatment operations. These are expensive operations that treat the water run-off from the tanning process by removing the harmful residue before the water is released into the sewage system. The techniques for maximizing the result of this process are honed, unlike the techniques for chrome-free.
What about Greenguard? Remember, Greenguard isn’t about whether a factory produces leather environmentally or not, it’s about volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released into the air (i.e., the “off-gassing” of products during their recommended use and applications). The water-based finishing products used in leather release naturally low VOCs. That “new car” smell isn’t coming from the leather, but the laminates, plastics, and glues used to hold everything together in an automobile.
It’s ironic that leather needs to fight the same “green” battle as the nylon carpet business, vinyl wall covering, wood laminate business, etc., but I recognize its the necessary reality.
Eventually, Groove will register with Greenguard and test its leathers, but this is probably a year away because of the huge expense. In the meantime, I’d remind designers that Groove’s product (a product of nature) and its production process are very green indeed.
March 31st, 2009 at 9:09 am
[...] or those of you who are interested in reading a frank assessment of the leather industry’s role in sustainability, I recommend “Marketing claims that miss out on the truth” (PDF format). In this article, Michael Braungart, author of “Cradle to Cradle” talks about how designers play an important role by selecting materials that are well understood and sound not only for the job in hand but for perpetuity. (Related topic “To paraphrase Forrest Gump: ‘Green is as green does’”). [...]