Pretty in Plastic

Just when you were getting used to “fake” meat, faux fur and drinking milk from a plant, along comes “pleather,” also known as “plastic leather.” Before you hit the runway in your new non-leather jacket, however, you should know why some environmentalists still prefer hides or advocate for completely different materials like hemp and organic cotton, no matter what the fashion cost.

Though pleather has gained popularity in the past few years, leather has also shown sales growth in the United States and Europe. This is partially due to high-end designers showing it in their collections, but mostly to the fact that the price of leather has dropped because of increased imports from India, China, Korea and the Philippines. These countries have lower production costs and provide minimal wages and benefits.

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