It is the most classic and ancient hide tanning process, widespread all over the world. The process is realized in a traditional way, especially in Italy, where expert artisan tanners, heirs to centuries of great experience and knowledge, work high quality hides using innovative technologies.
The main ingredient of vegetable tanning are tannins. They are widely found in the plant kingdom and are extracted from tree bark, wood, fruit and leaves. These extracts give the leather a natural color, with warm tones.
Tradition, innovation, naturalness and beauty
Vegetable tanning is the artisanal process of treating skins and hides that expert tanners have handed down from father to son for over 200 years. It combines ancient recipes, that are closely guarded by their owners, with technological innovation.
The creation of vegetable tanned leather is the expression of art, knowledge, skill and experience. The transformation from raw hides into a durable and valuable material is a process that takes place in barrels made of wood or recyclable plastic material, with respect of the environment.
This process is amazing because it is based on the use of natural tannins, modern technologies and machinery of latest technology, but, above all, on the slow passing of time.
Among the various tanning methods, vegetable tanning is the most classic, traditional, recognizable, natural and ecological. The only one that emphasize the peculiar characteristics of the leather.
Vegetable tanning combines comfort with look, fashion with tradition, uniqueness with the versatility of an item. This process is slowly disappearing in Europe, except for Italy, where the Tuscan Consortium is the world-beater regarding tradition and fashion innovation:
Plant extracts
The raw materials used for vegetable tanning are tannins, natural substances available both in liquid and powder form, extracted from different parts of plants including wood, bark, pods, fruits and leaves.
The most common tannins are obtained from chestnut wood (Castanea sativa), from Quebracho wood (Schinopsis lorentzii), from Tara pods (Caesalpinia spinosa), Catechu (Acacia Catechu), Chinese gall (Rhustyphina semialata), Gambier (Uncaria Gambir ), mimosa or acacia rind (Acacia meamsii), myrobalan (Terminalia chebula), oak wood (Quercus sp), sumac (Rhustyphina coriaria), Turkish gall (Quercus infectoria) and Vallonea (Quercus macrolepis).