https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/olympic-rider-launches-vegan-tack-range-676800?fbclid=IwAR1lW82h3621xJOXg0r2NhjpwdEoGLzYCANuuDzi5QZDlb9-jweL3CI__YI#mX6jclYdIB1EWaEm.01
not Sure why this is published from a British magazine, but I like it!
That’s Robert Dovers project. He’s posting about it all over social media so h&h must have grabbed it from there.
should be interesting
“Veganuary” is a big thing is the UK this year.
Supposedly the UK is ranked #1 in veganism this year or coming out with the most vegan products - good for them!
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The environmental cost of producing these “vegan” leather products is not something that should be forgotten. Animal rights are one issue but textile waste and the environmental cost of producing vinyls etc is destroying third world countries.
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I am sure that producing usable, quality goods is the goal here rather than strictly veganism. I would echo that synthetics are not necessarily better for the environment or animal life. (For example, despite the microplastics issue, I am sadly hanging on to my polarfleece, though I am also learning to use and love wool.) IME the current synthetics do not last nearly as long as quality, cared-for leather. That said, who among us wouldn’t love quality goods that are easily produced to order and never need oiling?
The car and furniture makers have different needs for a material than we do - large, uniform sheets, where flexible and stretchy is actively desirable and where you don’t have a lot of strength and friction issues. So, it will not be as simple as using the same raw materials they are for saddles, boots, and bridles. It may take a bit of capital to develop a process that is suitable for our equestrian goods.
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On his fb page Robert has mentioned that the products will be “eco-friendly” and made without plastics or PVC so he is clearly aware of those concerns. Seems like a smart idea with a ready-made market.
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So what exactly are these “eco-friendly” materials if not vinyl or plastic?
Bamboo? Hemp?
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mass production of any crop, particularly tropical monoculture, comes at a huge ecological price which impacts all animals, including humans. I would be interested in what materials are being used that are not pleather and how they are made.
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Probably TPE. Which isn’t better for the environment, just lets you say things like PVC and plasticizer free. It’s still a vinyl product with chemical waste produced.
Not that tanning is a zero impact process, either, but “vegan” does not mean “without cost.” There is no infrastructure to recycle upholstery material and textile waste is a massive problem. This stuff does not biodegrade, ever.
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Perhaps it is mentioned somewhere in the publicity? I am not on Face Book so can’t really ask the advetiser-creators what the boot-bridle-saddle stuff that is “vegan” and “eco-friendly” is actually made from.
I’m surprised that they don’t mention the origin of this versatile vegan all 'round material.
ETA I thought vegan was a dietary term that referred to a vegetarian diet in its strictest form. 
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It just means free of animal products, it’s not necessarily limited to diet.
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You know a source is really legit when they capitalize every word for emphasis (?)
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Oh. Thanks.:yes:
So would the saddles/boots/bridles necessarily be made of vegetable material to be “vegan” or does man made fiber count as vegan as well?
? Not sure what you are talking about… I kind of like the pineapple leather version
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In and of itself, the word vegan just means free of animal products, not made of vegetables or ecologically viable.
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I see, thanks for the clarification.
I am however, not understanding the “eco” side of the “Vegan Dressage Collection” thing.
Not leather, doesn’t necessarily equal ecologically sound, so it would be best for the advertisers (Mr. Dover et al) to specify the materials that they are promoting, for those of us whose thinking wanders past the jargon.
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I suspect they will cover all those details at the launch party in a couple of weeks and when the website is live.
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And I think that would be sad, because eco friendly should be more important then anything else. But I liked to read what the Schleese website said and I think in the future there will be vegan material which will be eco friendly and animal friendly!
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