Vegetable-tanned vs chrome-tanned leather, explained

What does "tanning" actually do?

Tanning turns raw hide, which would rot or dry stiff, into a stable material that can be cut, sewn and used for years. Tanning agents bind to the collagen fibers in the hide and stop them breaking down. The two most common ways to do that are with plant tannins (vegetable tanning) and with chromium salts (chrome tanning).

What is vegetable-tanned leather?

Vegetable tanning uses tannins extracted from plants: tree bark and wood such as oak, chestnut, mimosa and quebracho. Hides soak in a series of tannin baths that get gradually stronger. It is slow: the process usually takes weeks rather than days.

The result is leather that starts out firm and holds its shape, takes tooling and edge finishing well, and has a warm, natural color. Over time, with light, handling and the oils from your hands, it darkens and softens. That change is called patina, and it is the main reason people choose veg-tan.

What is chrome-tanned leather?

Chrome tanning uses chromium(III) salts. Hides are tumbled in drums with the tanning solution, and the process can be finished in about a day. Most of the world's leather today is chrome-tanned, because it is fast, consistent and cheaper to produce at scale.

Chrome-tanned leather is soft and supple from the start, resists water and heat better, and takes bright, even dyes. It changes much less with age. It doesn't develop the same patina, and it tends to look much the same in year five as in week one.

Which one is better?

Neither is better for everything. Chrome-tan suits gloves, upholstery and jackets, where softness, color range and water resistance matter. Veg-tan suits bags, belts and wallets that you want to last and to age with you.

The trade-offs of veg-tan are worth knowing:

• It marks and scratches more easily at first. Most light marks blend in as the leather ages.
• Water can leave spots, and it shouldn't be dried with heat. Our care guide covers what to do if it gets wet.
• It costs more to make, because it takes longer.

Why is the Sabana Crossbody vegetable-tanned?

Because we want it to get better with use, not just survive it. The Sabana Crossbody is cut from full-grain vegetable-tanned cowhide and left unlined, so you see and feel the leather itself, inside and out. It will darken and soften over the years, and if a seam or strap ever fails, our workshop in Restrepo will repair it.

[PLACEHOLDER: one or two sentences on where the workshop's veg-tan leather comes from.]

How can I tell which kind of leather a bag is?

Look at a cut edge. Veg-tan usually has a firm, brown or tan core that can be burnished smooth. Chrome-tan often shows a pale blue-gray core (the "wet blue" stage of chrome tanning) unless it has been dyed through. Veg-tan also tends to smell earthy and woody, while chrome-tan smells more neutral.

Tanning is only half the story. The other half is which layer of the hide the leather comes from. That's covered in how to tell full-grain leather from the rest. To see where the leather is worked, read about Restrepo, the Bogotá neighborhood that makes Colombia's leather.

More questions? See the FAQ.