VEGETABLE TANNED LEATHER: GOOD FOR YOU, GOOD FOR THE EARTH

Free of pollutants: Discover Grünbein’s shoes made from natural leather

Free of pollutants: Discover Grünbein’s shoes made from natural leather

To make our shoes as sustainable as possible, we use vegetable-tanned leather for many of our shoes. Instead of the usual chrome-tanning, we rely on the gentle process with vegetable tannins. Why are we doing this? We’d be happy to explain it to you.

Leather is a great material

The properties of this natural material surpass all other raw materials used in shoe manufacturing. It is breathable, durable, skin-friendly, robust, elastic, warming, without petrochemical ingredients or microplastics – leather is naturally inimitable. We made the decision for leather after careful consideration of all pros and cons.

Tanning the leather can be a major burden on the environment and health. It is good to be able to rely on responsible partners: Our leathers come from Portuguese leather factories with whom we have been working for many years. All our inner leathers are tanned chrome-free by certified dyeing plants. In addition, the upper leathers of many Grünbein shoes are vegetable tanned – here too, you can rely on our certified partners.

Environmentally friendly tanning processes

This centuries-old process requires a lot of time and expertise to ensure that the results meet our requirements. After all, tanning is the most important step in leather production: During this process, the animal hides are preserved and stabilized for their later use. Tanning also ensures that the leather does not stick together and harden during drying, but remains beautifully flexible thanks to the tanning agents.

Improper tanning with chromium sulphate produces harmful substances that cause allergies in many people. Also, improperly prepared chrome tanning agents can cause considerable damage to the environment. As sustainability is our aim, we at Grünbein we prefer to use vegetable tanning. As far as possible, we refrain from using chrome-tanning and tanning processes that are highly harmful to the environment, in which mineral and heavy metal tanning agents are used. Our tanneries comply with the LWG (Leather Working Group) standards and thus meet the highest demands for environmentally friendly leather production.

Grünbein shoes made from vegetable-tanned leather

Natural, vegetable-tanned leather (chrome-free) is breathable and skin-friendly. Light, time and touch create a great patina in the long run. Convince yourself: On this page you will find a selection of our models made from vegetable-tanned leather.