Leather is just a by-product

“The cows are already dead for their meat, so if we don’t use their skin it would just go to waste. Not very sustainable, is it?”

I’ve never really worn leather, so it’s not a huge deal for me personally and this doesn’t help me eat meat either.

This sounds similar to my “animal is already dead” article, but just applied to the skin. Let’s just check, though, whether I should be buying or wearing leather at all.

In for a penny, in for a pound

So leather is a fairly small part of the overall value of a cow. In recent years, hide prices have dropped significantly, and I’ve seen figures that suggest the value of the hide is now as low as 1 to 2% of the total value of the animal [1] [2] [3]. Still though, cheap is not the same as free.

While a 2021 industry-funded study found no direct link between hide prices and herd sizes, it estimated that a 10% increase in hide prices indirectly raises the total U.S. cattle herd by up to 0.17%. Demand for leather goes up, hide prices go up, slaughterhouses make slightly more profit, they pay slightly more per cow, and overall cattle production increases marginally. So cows aren’t bred directly for their hides, but selling hides helps keep the operations running.

Waste not, wear not

Even though it’s a very small part of the overall value of a cow, it still contributes to the industry. If I’m against supporting the meat industry, I may as well just cut all ties and avoid leather.