Australian B-Corp Outland Denim has announced that its denim and ready to wear offering is 100% leather free, after making the commitment to phase out the material.
The brand's choice to phase out the leather patch to create a 100% vegan offering was made in the 2020 Sustainability Report.
The milestone is just the latest in a string of sustainability moves for Outland Denim, having recently announced it had achieved 100% traceability within its organic cotton denim supply chain.
Outland Denim founding CEO James Bartle said the decision on leather was a long-time coming.
"Ultimately, we want to create clothes that match people’s values, clothes they feel really good wearing, and we know that with a vegan lifestyle comes the challenging and time-consuming task of finding denim that you not only love, but also doesn’t have a leather patch.
"It’s a development many in the Outland community have been looking forward to, and we’re excited that it’s finally a reality," he said.
The leather patches have been replaced with jarcon patches made from paper.
According to Bartle, the brand spent 24 months trialling and implementing the new material.
"We spent about 12 months trialling different non-leather options, and another 12 months transitioning the patches over as new garments were made.
"We really wanted to take this time to make sure we were selecting the best, most sustainable option on the market at the time.
"Many leather-look alternatives require intensive water, energy, and chemical use in their production, others are mostly plastic.
"As with all our material selection, it’s important to be mindful to not solve one issue by creating others," he said.
Outland Denim’s 100% leather-free offering is available to shop online and in-store now as well as at David Jones, Nordstrom, The Iconic, and select boutiques.