Tanning Zeology Tannery Richard Hoffmans / Scan-Hide Brand Anya Hindmarch read more Nera is proud to present an exciting collaboration with British designer Anya Hindmarch and our Zeology Partners Scan-Hide and Richard Hoffmans for Hindmarch’s new collection ‘Return To Nature’. The Return To Nature tote and bucket bag styles are crafted from Zeology leather – aldehyde free, heavy metal free and chrome free – and can biodegrade naturally back to earth. “A few years ago I heard Arizona Muse (environmentalist and sustainability specialist) talking about the idea of a leather bag that could be tanned in a way that allowed it to biodegrade and return to the earth at the end of its life. There is no waste in nature, and this and Arizona’s words inspired me to embark on a lengthy project to see if I could make a beautiful bag from responsibly sourced leather, without using any hardware and tanned in a way that meant that it could biodegrade and ultimately return to nature. This is what I set out to do.” Anya Hindmarch, founder and CEO. In support of DIRT, the foundation for the regeneration of the soil. The leather The leather used in the Return to Nature collection uses a pioneering tanning and finishing method, developed with Richard Hoffmans (est. 1899) and Nera Tanning, resulting in a product that is chrome, heavy-metal and aldehyde-free – and thus able to biodegrade and compost. The skins are sourced from Scan-Hide Swedish farms with some of the highest standards of animal welfare. The hides are tanned with Zeology, an innovative new way of tanning that replaces chrome (which hinders biodegradability) with zeolite. The leather is heavy metal and aldehyde-free. It refrains from the use of PU coatings, and is finished instead with Activated Silk™ Technology to allow the bag to biodegrade and compost. In independent testing, the Return to Nature leather biodegraded only 10% slower than pure collagen – in other words, it breaks down nearly as quickly as untanned skin. When industrially composted, the leather was found to actually nourish the soil, delivering 20% stronger plant growth than a control compost. So not only can this bag never add to landfill, but at the end of its life, it will Return to Nature. Read more on anyahindmarch.com Are you ready to start working with Zeology? Contact us More collaborations Take a look at more Zeology products Zeology products
