Leather is the material. It’s used to make clothing, footwear, furniture, automobile seats, you name it. However, while the earliest record of leather artifacts date back to at least 2200 BC, a lot of today’s consumers have boycotted goods made from this material for an ethical reason. Killing animals. A good example of this is a recent comment one man left under a video about the making-of of a leather iPhone case.

The video was released by Saddleback Leather, a company that claims their products are 100% leather, as opposed to the other iPhone cases that are usually about 80% plastic and only 20% leather. The company responded to the criticism, pointing out that the material they use is only a by-product of other industries and there are much bigger problems in the smartphone-making business.

According to the United Nations, “the leather and leather products industry plays a prominent role in the world’s economy, with an estimated global trade value of approximately US$100 billion per year.”

“World population grew dramatically in the 20th century and it continues to grow at present. This growing population and the general increase in wealth have led to increases in the demand for meat, which in turn have kept the supply of leather raw material fairly constant.” In fact, so constant that, the raw material supplies for the leather industry reflected population growth throughout the whole 20th century. Also, “the ratio of cattle populations (by far the primary source of leather raw material) and leather produced to the size of human populations has remained remarkably steady for the last one hundred years.” The United Nations claims that, “the leather industry relies on by-products of the meat and dairy industries for over 95% of its raw materials.”

Scroll down to check out the emotional exchange and let us know your thoughts about this topic in the comments.

Recently, a man criticised Saddleback Leather for making leather iPhone case, thus supporting animal abuse

Image credits: Saddleback Leather

Some people support the company

While others claim that their business in unethical

What do you think?

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