I'm wide awake at nearly 2:00 in the morning typing this up because a nice little blizzard blew through last night and the change in pressure is wreaking havoc on my sinuses. Usually I'll go sit in the recliner and fall asleep after an hour or so of infomercials, but not tonight. Tonight I'm learning about something I've never heard of before -- organic leather.

Ok, so technically it's not "organic" leather with an official label. It's still the same old animal skin leather we're used to, except it's not processed using the harsh chemical tanning methods most tanneries use today. Instead, it's made using plant tannins or smoke to cure the hide. The animals are also chemical free having been organically fed and raised humanely.

The folks who make it take a lot of pride in their work, and pride in our planet as well. From the Organic Leather website:

It is our intention to return reverence to the practice of working with
leather, to pay homage to the tribal peoples of our world who have
never forgotten this, and to live in dominion with our animal friends
and the earth.

We have chosen the farmers and tanners that we work with very
carefully. We are strong supporters and promoters of small farms, and
believe they hold an important resonance on our Earth. The hides we use
are a by-product of the meat industry; they are from the wild, from
organic or small family farms.

The tanneries we use work with bark tannins, plant tannins or smoke, to
cure and preserve the leather. The run off from these tanneries is
non-toxic and can go straight out on to the fields.

Our dream is to eventually expand our business into fair trade
partnerships with people in developing nations where we will work with
existing tanneries to convert them to organic processes and employ
local craftspeople at fair trade rates.

I like this idea, and it sure as hell beats buying leather products from places where we have no idea what condition the animals were in, how the workers were treated, and what chemicals were used and disposed of in the tanning process.

But it gets better. Not only are their methods great, but their products are pretty awesome, too.

Check them out, and even better, buy something from them.