This afternoon I had my first session of HS Leather Art Making. In this session we explored various types of leather, their textures, smells, and thicknesses. We also begun on our first project: A book cover and a pencil case. We learned how to use an awl to sketch out the shapes onto the leather, and learned how we need to be patient when cutting leather. I look forward to learning more!

Here is the piece of leather I will be working on for the next few weeks. On top of it is the awl (upper part of the photo), which is used to scratch guiding lines onto the leather, and a metal ruler to cut straight lines on it. 

However, something I have been considering since I signed up for this activity was how ethical it is to buy leather to make art. In short, was it morally okay for me to pay for this activity, and take part in it?

One may consider us using leather as morally good or neutral for several reasons. Firstly, we will be working with vegetable-tanned leather, meaning that we are making products without creating water pollution. Secondly, when taken care of well, leather products can last for generations, unlike products made of fabric or plastic. This reduces waste going into landfills and can encourage people to take care of their things in general. I know this well: I have been wearing a pair of leather shoes almost every day for years, and they are barely worn out at all. And that wear is likely partially because I don’t polish (take care of) the shoes. Thirdly, leather is a renewable material, and in that way could be considered a better choice than plastic-based materials for sustainability reasons. Fourthly, unlike many synthetic leathers, leather does not release micro-plastics when washed, which can harm marine ecosystems. In this way, there are environmental and sentimental arguments to be made for replacing other materials with leather.

However, one can also argue that using leather is morally bad. Firstly, there is the uncomfortable reality that leather comes from killing an animal. It could be argued that buying leather is financially supporting or creating greater incentive for industries that slaughter animals (as leather may be taken off of animals slaughtered primarily for their meat), which I am morally against. One may counter that and say that these animals are going to be slaughtered for meat anyway, and so we should use their skins for some purpose rather than throwing them away. However, from my scant economic knowledge I believe that the more profit that can be made from a process, the more that process will be done, leading to the mass deforestation, poor diets, and animal welfare issues that livestock farming is often associated with. In particular, the leather we’ll use come from cows, and cow farming is contributing to climate change and mass deforestation, which are huge threats to our species. If I am against buying meat to eat on the basis that it supports the often unsustainable and cruel meat industry, then surely I shouldn’t pay to join this leather art course.

Therefore, there are environmental and sentimental arguments both for using leather to replace other materials, and not using leather at all. As an environmentalist with feelings, both of those types of arguments resonate with me, so I am still not sure whether this is an ethical choice. On top of that, as I write out these thoughts I have, I realise how little concrete knowledge I have about leather production and the impacts of it, so my thoughts and ethics process may be based on wildly inaccurate claims. This made me realise the importance of practical knowledge/data, not just philosophical/logical consistency, in making moral judgement. I have decided I will take some time this week to do some in-depth research into both sides of this debate.