If you are in any doubt of the sustainability credentials of leather, this story is for you. Douglas McMaster is a pioneering chef who established the UK’s first zero-waste restaurant, SILO. The people at Billy Tannery wrote a blog post about how they were asked to provide aprons for all the staff at the restaurant.

Billy Tannery was set up a few years ago when the founders were appalled by the fact that thousands of goatskins leftover from the food industry were being thrown away each year. In a world waking up to the need for more renewable materials, this seemed like madness. So they started the tannery and began making all kinds of fine goat leather accessories.

SILO was also started thanks to a passionate belief in sustainability. In its efforts to reduce waste, SILO doesn’t even have a bin: everything is either used or composted. According to Billy Tannery’s blog, SILO wanted to find aprons that wouldn’t need to go in the washing machine – as a way of saving both energy and water. Goat leather aprons fitted the bill perfectly. As they say in the blog, “This project brings together everything Billy Tannery stands for – from fighting waste to reconnecting leather with the food chain”.

The same could be said of all kinds of leather derived from the meat industry. Leather is the perfect way of using an otherwise unwanted resource and turning it into something useful, practical, and beautiful.

Read HERE the full article.