𝗜𝗳 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀?

Is it Leather? Writes on LinkedIn:

You carry a reusable water bottle.

You skip plastic straws.

You keep a stash of cloth grocery bags in your trunk.

Day after day, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀.

It’s admirable. It’s hard work. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth: with one swipe of a credit card, you can undo years of those careful efforts – literally.

Buy one fake leather couch, jacket, or handbag and you’ve just invested in a product that is, at its core, plastic.

Call it “vegan leather,” “PU,” or “pleather” – it’s all the same: a petroleum-based material that will eventually crack, peel, and shed microplastics into the environment.

Think about the math:

A single polyurethane couch contains more plastic than thousands of plastic bags.

Those “eco-friendly” faux leather boots? Each step releases microscopic plastic particles that never biodegrade.

And when that couch starts to flake (and it will), it can’t be recycled. It goes straight to the landfill where it will outlive us all.

That one purchase outweighs years of skipped straws, carefully rinsed yogurt cups, and religious recycling. All the reusable bottles in the world can’t balance the carbon footprint of a sofa destined to peel and be replaced.

Real leather, on the other hand, is a by-product of the food industry. Cows aren’t raised for hides; hides are a natural outcome of meat production. 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲, 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝘆 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀. A well-made leather couch can last decades – gaining character instead of cracking apart.

This isn’t about shaming conscious consumers. It’s about asking the next question:

If we work so hard to avoid plastic bottles, why give plastic a free pass when it’s disguised as “kindness”?

Before you swipe your card, pause.

Ask what the material really is.

Choose products that last, that can be repaired, and that don’t hide behind clever marketing.

Because 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁𝘀.

𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴, 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 – 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀!