Are Real Leather Goods Worth the Investment?

There is a term in the retail industry called ‘sticker shock’. You are looking through a store and you spot something you like but take a look at the price tag and nearly faint. If you are checking out something made with real leather and the price is dissuading you, it can be tempting to opt for the cheaper option made from synthetic materials. But why is real leather so expensive?

Leather is made from animal hide. Only so much of that hide is viable to make good leather. Out of that viable hide there is a range of quality that can be extracted. The different types of leather produce different categories to suit a variety of purposes, varying in durability and quality which will inform the cost.

These categories are full grain, top grain, corrected grain, genuine leather and suede. Most people working in leather will specify what grade of leather they are working in. Full grain or top grain is the highest quality with best look and performance over time while genuine leather is the cheapest and least durable option. 

The tanning process has two main options. Vegetable tanned leather and chrome tanned leather. Vegetable tanned refers to the process of turning hide into leather using plant materials that are rich in tannin. This process is longer but offers a more beautiful feel and finish as well as being more environmentally friendly. Chrome tanning is a shorter process and uses chemicals to achieve the result. This makes it the less expensive option. 

The cost of manufacturing leather comes down to scarcity and time. Just like an expensive cut of meat such as the tenderloin is more costly due to its scarcity and quality compared to something like ground beef which can be made with any quality of meat. 

Often when we are thinking of price it is a comparison game. Why buy this expensive, full grain vegetable tanned leather belt when there is a vegan leather belt for a fraction of the price?

It comes down to what you value in that object. Vegan leather is made mostly from polypropylene which is a kind of plastic. Synthetic materials, while they last forever in a landfill, don’t tend to last very long for their intended use.

Vegan leather doesn’t have the flexibility or ability to be maintained in the way real leather does. With proper care, a real leather product can last for decades while its vegan leather alternative will only last a few years with regular use. 

All this comes before the material even reaches the artisan. How do I calculate my prices? A general rule that many handmade artisans follow goes a lot like this…

(time to produce) x (cost of materials) = base rate 

(base rate) x 3 = retail price

What does that x3 come from? It is how the cost and labor to produce the item also helps to cover the operation of the business. It might take me one full work day to sit down and make a belt from start to finish but I also have to factor in the time it takes me to maintain the website, shipping and packaging, marketing and the design work that all goes into turning my craft into a viable business. All this comes together to get the final retail price.  My goal as a designer and maker is to create beautiful products that are streamlined so I can produce them at a reasonable rate but there are certain corners that I just won’t cut. One of those corners is the quality of my materials because I know how much it affects the user experience. 

Hope you enjoyed this insider look into why leather products cost what they do!