October 7, 2025

What is natural about leather

The leather industry has become very marketing oriented in its promotion of leather in recent years. It was long overdue. A lot of emphasis is put on the patina of leather, its longevity in use and the fact that it is remarkable for wearing in rather than wearing out. When leather articles are repaired it is usually the failure of threads or zips, not the leather, so designers are being asked to improve the quality and placement of such items to minimise the need for repair and simplify it when needed.

When the industry was more product oriented it argued that a beautiful leather sold itself, without realising that even with luxury goods – for example automobiles, watches, jewellery and even high fashion gloves are constantly evolving to stay relevant with changing times. Their creative teams work to retain brand authenticity and product relevance while adapting new technologies and updated materials.

This is what tanners must do with leather, which is a brand in its own right. Tanneries must use their market orientation to interpret how leather will fit the ever-progressing changing market demands. In certain areas this means very little change, except to ensure legal and chemical compliance in manufacture while in other end uses performance specifications for abrasion, tear, fireproofing, shower proofing and so forth are far from static.

The key point that tanners must not ignore is that leather is a natural material. They must find ways to retain all the obvious and sensory attributes that influence how consumers perceive and evaluate it, such as visual appearance, colour, texture, overall feel and odour.

Organoleptic properties of leather

I remember a discussion on this area with a good friend from the automotive leather business, Cary Bean, who suggested I read Martin Lundstrom’s excellent little volume Brand Sense. While hotels and retail stores are busy trying to create memorable atmospheres with fragrance sprays the organoleptic properties of leather are built in to the raw material, and remain continuously important in both the technical assessment and consumer evaluation of the material.

For example, garment leather is routinely checked for softness, fullness, smoothness, colour, and overall tactile comfort as key organoleptic criteria while leather goods makers use organoleptic evaluations to ensure consistency and appeal for fashion, furniture, and other applications. They are particularly important in all aspects of interior design.

The patina of leather is part of this. The patina is the textural evolution and colour change that come through use as a leather article is exposed to handling, body oils, perspiration, sunlight and overall environmental exposure often creating a distinctive sheen: all experience through the senses of sight and touch. This explains why two identical handbags will be quite different after only a few weeks: just as beautiful but personalised to each owner in accordance with their use and handling.

As tanners we recognise that the type of skin, its husbandry, age and sex all impact organoleptic qualities as much as processing. Softness is additionally a matter of tannage, retannage and fatliquoring, while fullness relates more to the density of the fibre structure, avoiding over-liming and excessive oiling. Odour is one of the most interesting as the odour of leather mostly considered to be that from vegetable tanned leather which is the interaction of tannins, natural oils, and volatile organic compounds. These give vegetable tanned or retanned leather its distinctive fragrance—especially intensified during the steps of hand oiling, drying, and rolling. In automobiles as vegetable tanned leather gave way to chromium some perfumes were introduced instead, so the best place other than a tannery to get the authentic smell is often to go to a leather craft store where they have racks of vegetable leathers on the shelves.

In simplistic terms tanning methods directly control the tactile, visual, and olfactory properties of leather, with chrome tanning favouring softness and uniformity, vegetable tanning enriching body and aroma, and combinations or synthetic tans allowing tailored sensory attributes. This remains the complex art and mystery of the tanner.

Use the term biophilia

Biophilia explains why humans respond positively to organoleptic qualities. Biophilia is our natural affinity for the sensory signals of authentic materials. The leather industry should use the term more often as it highlights those sensory qualities in leather that connect people to the natural world at a basic level: it retains its protein structure and organic texture even after processing, and its sensory qualities—look, feel, smell—reflect its biological origins.

Natural materials and surroundings are increasingly preferred for buildings and interior design: materials include wood, stone, wool, cotton, and leather used in a wide array of products, furnishings, fabrics, and wall coverings. By engaging the senses, making us think of nature, well-being and psychological health is improved; a challenge in the sterile world of steel, aluminium and concrete and lives filled with technological gadgets.

Leather humanises all this in ways no plastic or “biomaterial” can do.

No synthetic has the complex biological basis for multi-sensory engagement and natural aging that comes naturally with leather.

It is not merely that look, smell, warmth to touch, with the capacity to age gracefully are hallmarks of authenticity, they are biophilic triggers; part of the innate tendency of humans to seek connections with nature and natural materials. When consumers observe the patina plus the feel and smell of a treasured leather possession it feels “alive” compared to synthetics.

Leather is authentic: keep it that way

So keep these essential thoughts in mind when making your leather. Leather is authentic and that is what consumers buy: let us keep it that way.

Michael Redwood

Leather chemist, writer, and advisor on responsible leather manufacturing and material strategy. This article was originally written for ILM.