Chrome Free Leather

[ChelseaC]

Looking for chrome free leather suppliers that have cow hides, between 2.5-5oz, and ship to the U.S.

I've found pergamena already and have samples coming but would love a few other options to look into!

Thanks!

[mlapaglia]

By "chrome free" do you mean Veg Tanned? I have never heard the term Chrome free. All Veg tanned is chrome free.

[ChelseaC]

Yes, veg tanned and I believe alinine dyed? (I think that's the term?

[Nuttish]

I think you need to do some research on your own. Vegetable tanned aniline dyed leather is a uselessly broad description.

[ChelseaC]

Will do. my understanding is that vegetable tanned leather is free of (or has lower quantities of) heavy metals, and aniline dyes are "healthier" for the environment? Is that the gist of it? Or does that not exist?

[johnv474]

I don't agree with nuttish. Vegetable tanned leather is a separate process from chromium-tanned. There also exists retan (i.e. Chrome and then vegetable tanned or vice versa). Many oof Horween's leathers are re-tanned. Alum tanned is mostly used in laces. For nontoxic/environmental awareness, veg tan is the way to go. The hides are soaked in roots, barks, and so forth, and is the more traditional process. Aniline dyes are translucent, meaning you can see the grain of the leather, as opposed to opaque paint-like topcoats like you see it car interiors. There are a few tanneries in the US that do vegetable tanning (Horween, Wickett and Craig, and Hermann Oak), and there are lots of them in Europe (pricey) and Mexico (cheaper than US). I'd stay away from China or India because the quality varies more and regulation is minimal. LeFarc, from Mexico, claims to have eco-friendly leathers, and Concurmex also has some that they claim are similarly environmentally sensitive. The Leon, Mexico area is filled with them. During the tanning process they can include fats and waxes and different agents to obtain a softer or firmer tannage. The particular plants used determine the smell and hue. You can find ratings for different tanneries if you do a Web search. Gold and silver rated are the top, I believe.

[ChelseaC]

Thanks so much johnv474! I will check out those tanneries

[Wishful]

Tandy has a sale on what they call chrome free leather called biosilk in 4 different colos. Item no 9203-

[Nuttish]

I don't see what the disagreement is.

Calling something vegetable tanned aniline dyed leather says nothing about its temper, grain, intended use, etc. Just have a look at Horween's full tannage list. It's got heavily retanned Dublin, less greasy Essex and Derby all of which have remarkably different tempers than equine Vermont. These all come in a variety of colors that aren't achievable with natural dyes, meaning they're likely aniline dyed and perhaps even mordanted with chromium salts to achieve faster and more vibrant colors.

One point to make is that you will be limiting sources if you confine yourself to searching solely for chrome-free leather when there are many leathers that aren't chrome tanned that won't necessarily be represented as such. US tanneries will most certainly be willing to tell you which of their leathers are chrome tanned. Importers probably not so much.

If you are looking not to support processes that discharge chromium into the environment, that's another deal.

[johnv474]

Nuttish, I think your last point about not supporting processes with chromium discharge is what motivated the original question. My disagreement was not about how broad a much veg tan aniline dyed include (which is, as you pointed out, a huge array of leathers), but that I felt OP's original question could be answered. Nothing offensive intended there.

[Nuttish]

... Nothing offensive intended there.

You didn't offend me at all. I'm sometimes terse and it's not difficult to misinterpret tone on the internet. Sorry about that.

[ChelseaC]

Thanks so much for all of the replies!

I think what I am looking for is:

Full grain, vegetable tanned(?)- whatever tanning process is more "natural" / eco friendly I guess, vegetable dyed(or dyed with food grade dyes.... Is that a thing??), cow hide leather, that is supple enough to use for soft soled baby shoes, and is about 3-4.5 ounces. Is that a better description? Basically I'm looking for a richly colored and thick leather that has not had potentially harmful (for babies) chemicals soaked into it. Will that description narrow down what I'm looking for? I really am only just skimming the surface so far with leather and I don't know a whole lot yet! I'm always wanting to learn more!

Thanks again!