Reflection – Accept more blemishes on leather

Stricter animal welfare regulations in the European Union have changed the conditions of the skins that the tanneries receive, which in turn means that we customers need to change our mindset on what is a good skin and what is not. In this article I explain this further.

I’ve written many articles about leather, tanning and leather quality (you’ll find most under the topic Material here on the site), and some have been about how the leather quality has developed through the years. In recent years regulations on animal welfare in the EU – which is the main supplier especially of quality calf leather for dress shoes – has become stricter. Among other things one regulate the overuse of antibiotics, which was used to prevent diseases, make it possible keep very large stocks, have lousy hygiene, poor animal husbandry, and make the animals grow faster before being slaughtered.

In an article here on Shoegazing I predicted these new regulations would be positive for the leather quality, and it has in the sense that the overall fibre structure has improved to certain degree and some heavy stretch marks developed due to too quick growth has become less common. However, it has also meant that marks and blemishes from animals living a freer life than before has increased.

Here’s a shoe with a small bite on the side of the vamp. For shoes like these below €500, totally acceptable.

The good thing with the above is that it’s the things that has improved – fibre structure and occurrence of heavier stretch marks – that would affect the overall lifespan and long term look of the shoes. The latter which has increased – marks and blemishes – are in general purely cosmetics and not really affecting the actual quality of the hide. But, as many know, marks and blemishes are not accepted on quality dress shoes or premium bags, where most calf leather are used. This need to change.

As it is now, for the tanneries in France, Italy and other European countries, when they do the first selection of which hides that are good enough to become smooth leather, and which hides that will become embossed grain leather or even splits, corrected grain etc, a larger and larger part of the selection don’t live up to the quality needed to become smooth full grain leather. And since the luxury leather goods business have way higher margins, and often own the tanneries, the best hides go to this, and less and less good smooth leather full grain hides are left for the shoe industry. Also, of the smooth leather that’s made, more and more have thicker finishing coats to look good at first, and for a bag might look good also on the finished product, but when you pull it over a last then things become visible and then it’s too late. If you would’ve seen it on the hide the manufacturer could have planned for it.

Not the best looking blemish, but it’s placed on the inside quarter, on a rather low-priced welted shoe. Picture: Ok Potential 62 / Reddit (also top picture)

That’s why we need to rethink what is considered a good quality smooth leather. Especially in the entry and midrange levels of welted dress shoes. It’s still extremely common that customers complain about small dents, veins and blemishes even on a pair of shoes that cost €200-300. Even if the blemish is on the inside quarter (where, to be frank, actual lower leather quality would be accepted, that’s more or less how you should click lower-priced welted footwear), and even if the leather of the vamp and toes otherwise are of good fibre structure and without stretch marks etc. And the general opinion by self-certified experts on forums, YouTube and elsewhere is fuelling that perception.

This is not sustainable. If we continue like this, there won’t be any proper smooth full grain leather dress shoes around at decent price points, one would need to go up to like €1,000 plus to get that. Budget and midrange would consist of suede, embossed leather and corrected grain. I assure you, it would be way more boring than having overall nice smooth calf but with some cosmetic defects here and there (and note, if we talk cow leather used for sturdier shoes and boots, then one move the scale upwards and have to accept even more of all kinds of leather “defects”, it’s just the nature of that raw material).

Stretch marks are a bit more difficult than marks and dents. On a wholecut chelsea boot made of large leather pieces, priced below €500, some smaller stretch marks like the ones seen here would be fine.

So, going forward, customers of dress shoes need to adjust their expectations and have a better understanding of what is inferior leather quality and what is just a blemish that won’t affect the lifespan or how the leather will age. It won’t make your shoes less valuable. In fact, one could see it as the opposite. You honour the animal that has given its life to provide in the first place food, secondly among other things a brilliant natural material to make footwear, and to see some of the marks from this life blend into one with the marks and dents you inevitable will create on this in your life, is after all just a lovely thing.

This type of mark a bit to the left in the photo on the inside quarter, which you probably barely can see here, is something people reach out to retailers and ask for a refund for. On a midrange welted shoe. That type of mindset need to change.