Bravo MotorTrend Group! Finally, a little truth around the “Vegan Leather” movement and the political pressure behind the push away from real leather. This is a fair and geat read – it looks at the good, bad and ugly truths around fake leather in automobiles. By Is it leather? on LinkedIn.

Who knew the Model T had Dupont plastic seats! At least Henry Ford didn’t term them “Vegan” and sell them at a premium over real leather. A telling example in this story is how PETA flexed its muscles against Tesla to force the company into “animal cruelty-free” interiors. Its disappointing to see how Musk caved in, but not surprising that he then found a way to market this stance and profit from these ridiculous demands, all the while pulling the proverbial wool (sorry PETA I understand it’s cruel to sheer a sheep as well) over the consumers eyes as to the actual value and benefits of his newly named “Vegan Leather.”

Are plastic automotive interiors really animal-cruelty free? Activists hope you never look past the shiny surface. Plastic is made from petroleum. Have you ever seen the destruction and cruelty that the petroleum industry serves on nature and wildlife? Maybe ask the dead ducks, fish and seals that are poisoned and suffocated in errant oil slicks. Do we understand the non-biodegradable impact of these so called “Vegan” products? They make us feel good by their name but fail to deliver any of the benefits. Motor Trend calls this the “Inconvenient Truth” about Vegan Leather. It’s more than inconvenient. It’s an all-out lie driven by activists smoke and mirror routines that are unsurprisingly pushed forward by hidden agendas and unnamed funders.

The real losers in this lie are the consumers who are cheated out of the quality and luxury of real leather, and our environment that bears the brunt of landfills crowded with un-biodegradable “Vegan” plastic and other fancy sounding toxic stuff.