Is salmon the new cow .. ?

You may have heard of salmon leather, however you may not know much about the properties or what the advantages are opposed to traditional leather.

Up to 9 times stronger

Salmon leather is up to 9 times stronger than traditional cow and lambs leather, this is due to the fact that salmon skin has a structure that interlocks like a criss cross structure, whereas traditional leather has a smooth surface, - salmon being one of the strongest.

Leather is most commonly used in the fashion industry. A recent article in the United Nations report, noted that the fashion industry produces up to 8% of global carbon emissions. But if we look at the comparisons of CO2 emissions from salmon skin vs cows leather, there is quite a vast difference in numbers. Whilst producing 1 kilo of beef equals 26,61 kilos of CO2-emissions. The same number for fish (all species) is 3,49 kilos. (2017)

Using the skins which would otherwise go to waste, the salmon skin industry contributes to bringing that number further down.

Fish skin leather used to be a common type of leather in many households. It was like an early form of Gore-Tex, and is on the way towards a comeback in the textile and fashion industry.

In recent years, the material has caught the eye of designers who want to incorporate it into luxury items. Other eco-minded entrepreneurs are drawing inspiration from traditional tanning techniques to find alternate, sustainable ways of making leather.

This kind of leather craft offer opportunities to revive old ideas, yet still be relevant to the modern fashion industry.

Fish leather does not require the resources or leave the carbon footprint associated with raising cattle, and does not use endangered species that could threaten biodiversity.

Is the fashion industry open to use fish leather in their collections ?

The answer is definitely yes.

Designers are facing a lot of pressure when it comes to the use of materials in their collections, PETA have recently uncovered gruesome methods of skinning exotic species ´Slitting snakes open with razorblades is gruesome, not glamorous,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on designers to end exotic-skin sales today, before another animal dies in agony.” These kind of methods have no place in the textile industry today and fashion houses are becoming aware of it. link

Major designers like Chanel and Prada banned the use of exotic skins in their collections and after PETA battling against the use of reptile skins in LVMH brands, Rick Owens and Courrèges for their S/S 20 collection swapped exotic skins for the skin of the pirarucu fish, a staple of the Amazonian diet whose skin would be otherwise discarded much like salmon skins. These skins could become an alternative to endangered species.

Waste is the way forward

Images above are taken by the represented brands

Vegan activists may state that animal leather is a complete no-go and introduce vegan plant based leather as a substitute. However vegan leathers might not be as sustainable as you may think, a lot of vegan alternatives will use materials such as PU or PVC which are of poor quality and not very sustainable.

It’s important to bear in mind that next-generation leather alternatives are still a work in progress too. Materials often need to be blended with synthetics, and not all are biodegradable. Waste-derived leathers prove to be a clear winner over leathers which are simply made for the purpose of creating luxury products.

Fish skin from salmon is a true waste product. Salmon as a food source will not be descending any time soon. The health benefits alone are too great for people to start avoiding salmon in their diet.