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Alliance France Cuir launches campaign in defence of leather

Jan 7, 2025 France

“Rien n’imite le cuir aussi bien que le cuir” is the new campaign launched by Alliance France Cuir to defend the quality of leather against similar materials of vegetable origin

Alliance France Cuir, the association representing the French leather supply chain has launched the campaign “Rien n’imite le cuir aussi bien que le cuir” (Nothing imitates leather as well as leather) to defend the qualities of leather. The campaign, produced with the agency Matter of Fact, plays with objects (bags and shoes) generally made of leather, but in this case, combined with materials of vegetable origin that greatly reduce their performance.

Based on a study conducted in 2021 by the German FILK Institute GmbH, which compared cowhide, synthetic leather and emerging bio-based materials – pineapple leaf, dried cactus, apple residue, mushroom, wood cellulose, fermented green tea and eucalyptus – the campaign aims to highlight that they do not have the same technical properties as leather, from strength to flexibility and durability. For example, the mushroom-based alternative is 195 times less tear-resistant than leather, and the cactus-based alternative is 8.5 times less tear-resistant.

While acknowledging that there are potential applications for these bio-based alternative materials, Alliance France Cuir stresses that “for everyday items that need to be tough and durable, such as sneakers, bags or shoes, leather remains an exceptional natural material that man has not yet been able to reproduce, despite his formidable sense of innovation”.

Image Credits: alliancefrancecuir.org

France Campaign Leather Organisations