Is it Leather? Writes on LinkedIn: The good news – French consumers are “all-in” on leather and other natural materials. In a survey last year by Alliance France Cuir’s Economic Observatory (recapped nicely in an ILM article – see link in comments), more than 83% of consumers stated a preference for natural materials, including leather.

And the majority of consumers are completely in line with some of Leather’s most important attributes – almost 80% considering leather long lasting, 90% named it as durable and 86% of consumers understand leather is repairable.

The Bad News – almost 50% of French consumers still think that cattle are killed for their leather, falling directly in line with PETAs disinformation push and putting an unneeded stress on the consumers purchasing decision. The global leather industry has a lot of educational outreach work to dispel this myth. It is critical that consumers understand that leather is a by-product of the beef industry and a highly sustainable choice. Without that knowledge, the consumer is left vulnerable to PETAs lies and the false virtue signals being sent by retailers that push them toward higher profit, cheaper plastic alternative products.

So, this study helps us as an industry really focus in on a critical part of our communication mission – we need to align on by-product and sustainability messages to help consumers understand that acting on their preference to buy real leather is NOT bad for animals or the environment.

If we can educate them that purchasing real leather is the most environmentally friendly and sustainable option – we can unleash their buying power currently being held back by false fears of animal cruelty.