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11:41 yes, but you could also compare it to vegetable tanned leather that comes from pasture raised cattle, slaughtered on-site/pasture and as a byproduct of meat production. meat production isn’t going away anytime soon, so the “production” chain might as well be heavily regulated with regards to animal welfare. and while you probably can’t push this thru on national/EU level (yet), you certainly could push it on car manufacturer level 🤷♂️ (disclaimer: i’m a flexitarian and prefer alcantara/velour/fabric seats to leather/leatherette)
@@kam_iko The "byproduct" argument counts as little as we should take the skins of dead dogs because their skin is available. If we pay for dead mammals in a car, we fund the industry that earns money with killing.
Plastic is a kind of "HC" combination. With wind and solar power we can extract H from water (H2O), and C from CO2. Then we "put" H and C together. Then we could talk of a short circuit, instead of the long circuit in the nature. The first step is made that's it to make H2 of solar and wind power.
This material is missing in the Tesla option list. Plastic seats and poor ergonomy put me of from buying T3. Bought Superb Scout wit alcantata instead. Prrfect ergonomy and nice seats. Same price range 😉
@@autogefuehlThey are still going to be killed for food, so the leather is available anyway. Far more animals are being slaughtered for food then they are for their leather, abandoning leather all together would mean that that resource just gets wasted. What I really question about leather is, sure, animal leather is biodegradable as it is, but I have never seen a study to see how degradable it is after being processed. That would be interesting information, since it's almost impossible to recycle, unless you have a good piece that fits your use and just re-treat it.
This is a great new development in Autogefuhl content. It gets away from just coverage of new vehicles and tells us more about the industries which go into the vehicles. So thank you Thomas. That is not to say I want to see a whole series on seat cover technology. It does however open up content about energy storage technologies for vehicles (batteries, hydrogen, fuel cells) where a lot is happening; developments in the thousands of chips which now go into our cars; energy recuperation technology, much of it from F1; and of course there are the new electric motor developments. There is a whole lot to mine here and keep us informed. I still want the car reviews though.
i have a porsche gt4 and not really a fan of alcantara. i would prefer leather, especially high touch surfaces like steering wheel, shift knob, arm rest, console and seat inserts. Alcantara picks up dirt and hand grease and needs to be cleaned and fluffed frequently so therefore is a high maintenance fabric. I would prefer leather for most things in the car. Dashboard, headliner, fine.
Alcantara is a Synthetic Suede (Fake Suede). I personally don't like it, I don't believe it to be a "premium" material. But the brand has an incredible marketing team and auto brands have been using it for a while because they can overcharge customers a premium for this fake and inexpensive material.
What I'm curious about is the markup they put on Alcantara. Being a mass produced plastic product I would imagine it's a pretty cheap product to make overall. I suppose what bugs me about it is I get the impression it's one of those products that's mostly marketing and they're over charging for what the product should be. Now, some will argue if they can charge that much and people will pay it then good for them. OK, sure. But that doesn't mean I have to fall for it. I personally try to avoid supporting products like that.
People are also not really taking into account how damaging the microplastics from these products entering our ecosystem and bodies is, in terms of cancers, immune dysfunction etc. I understand some of the "humane" arguments but the accumulation of plastics will end up wiping out everything in the end anyways. Many of the whitepapers and detection rates of the microplastics released this year are scary.
Fantastic video, Thomas. Thank you for this deep dive. It’s great to see how Alcantara is being made and especially the Complex Manufacturing shows how much work goes into a special car seat. THANK YOU! 😊
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I always like factory tours and this was a nice one. However I did not know that Alcantara is using plastic PU. Not a fan. Real leather is much more sustainable despite all these plastic based vegan fabrics and leathers.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment. You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable. A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally. In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse? We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
Perfect work Thomas great Video. I think Alcantara first introduction in Autobianchi Y10 1985. Later renamed Lancia Y10. Had some in the interior and a small handy document bag that came with the car. That is what I remember from my Dad's car. The Autobianchi Y10 in 1985 it was amazing, had lots of luxury and tech for the price. We had one, the colour name was Petro Blue. Funny cocktail with the black trunk. Do you remember that car? Autobianchi Y10 and Autobianchi Y10 Turbo. Curiosity Alcantara is also a place in Lisbon were we lived. 🎉🎉thank you for your great video
Thank you, very interesting. I dont particularly like leather car seats and would prefer fabric, however the cows will still be killed for their meat. So unless that changes it seems to make more sense to use the byproduct which would otherwise be thrown away than use oil/plastic products.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment. You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable. A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally. In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse? We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
@@autogefuehl thank you for the detailed reply. In my last 3 cars there was no choice but leather, hopefully next time there will be an alternative. Keep up the excellent car reviews, they are the best on you tube 👍
It's basically plastic. Some precipitate from some petrol related reaction. Not sure why this is good but I guess the Ministry of Truth has repeated it enough so it must be good.
Excellent informative video. Essentially, [recycled] plastic pellets are shown to become an ultra durable synthetic suede like material through many processes. Really interesting stuff.
Thank you for a great and informative video about Alcantara. In the closing climate speech I agree with many of the points made. I don't think animals are killed just to give us leather car interiors, shoes and what not. These leather things are bi-products and why feel bad about putting something to use, which otherwise probably is burnt to produce heat.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment. You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable. A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally. In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse? We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
@9:35 Genuinely misleading information here. There are a multitude of products made from these animals. Pretty sure you cannot eat crude oil or PET pellets. Give the full scope here, Thomas.
Claiming I would give misleading information is outrageous. I have researched this topic for 10 years, you can be sure I have done my homework. The information in this video is 100 % accurate.
@@autogefuehl the implication of your argument is that animal products, such as leather, is the single-use outcome of such an industry. It neglects to mention all the products made from the processing of cows (albeit aside from the leather hides itself); everything from the meat, bones & connective tissue (collagen), even insulin; instead, animal cruelty and CO2 emissions are highlighted in your position. It is an incredibly myopic argument and for that reason I'm stating it as "misleading information". Plastics are often single-use in scope and actually require more energy utilization in its recycling/ repurposing. I don't doubt your research here, but I do question whether or not it's been as egalitarian in perspective.
My point is that the animal industry is responsible for animal and human cruelty and I dont want to support that industry. I m not a fan of plastic, however at this moment, this is a better solution and the future solution will be also 100 % plastic free with plant-based fibres. That's all I am saying. That the animal is used entirely is not a good thing, because when we look at mammals, it is not about efficiency, but about decency. Acting ethically. If it would be dogs, we would not even dare to discuss if we use all the body parts. Now ask yourself why we find it disgusting to use dog body parts but efficient to use cow body parts? Just because someone told us to see it this say. This is the only reason. But there is no logical, ethical or biological reason to treat dogs and cows in a different way. All just cultural.
@@autogefuehl Appears to be a bit of conflation on the issue: domesticated animals, i.e. dogs or cats, were bred with a specific intent to keep otherwise wild/ non-domesticated animals as human companions-selecting certain traits for specific purposes/ reasons-in this way the comparison between dog and cow falls completely flat. Cattle, along with other husbandry, fulfill a very specific agrarian/ agricultural role in society. Can you think of any other technology/ devices that can be used to maintain land (i.e lawn mowing) that doesn’t require additional energy expenditure? From the manpower to run the service; fuel for i.c.e mowers; or electricity to run battery-powered lawn equipment (which itself hasn’t yet been scaled to maintain anything larger than suburban residential plots); cattle graze lands for free-in fact, fulfilling a life cycle of feeding these animals. The point being, that husbandry is a very holistic industry which is why the efficiency of their use in products is important and ought not be minimized. Another sad fact of the life cycle is that any living being will eventually die. So the efficacy of such a cycle is incredibly important to consider. Though I do think one could make the argument for the most humane treatment of animals and humans in said industry/ industrial processes. Improvements can always be made and should be championed. A closing thought to consider: if all mammalian life is to be on equal par per your earlier argument (dogs to cows).. if a squirrel were to run in front of one of the cars you were reviewing on a test drive, would you swerve off the road to avoid striking it? I’d think perhaps not. Now what if that squirrel were instead the family dog? This is the inherent trouble using Apples to Oranges in comparisons.
The role is what we give them. They are all mammals and there is no ethical reason to treat them differently. Assuming that a cow has a role to be slaughtered is an ideology of speciesism.
Very informative and interesting video. We added it to the Alcantara section of our large "Seat upholstery & materials" article for seats. Maybe you get the possibility to visit the Dinamica factory also. They claim to be more sustainable than Alcantara. (But I know they have been fighting in the courts over that claims). Keep up the good work for the car community!
Plastic trash is so dirty. That is why people throw it away. They don't keep it in their houses or even near their homes. Trash burning facilities are usually outside cities where tires and other plastics are burned up. I don't know that it would give me cancer. I am just speculating because it has a lot of impurities and once recycled it would be in constant contact with my body. Just being wary of something new before sufficient studies are done.@@autogefuehl
If plastic trash is collected thoroughly and then burned, it is actually not such a big problem. The problem is when it lands in the environment in an uncontrolled way. Main sources of cancer are however not microfibre car seats... a animal skin leather seat is e.g. way more dangerous because of the tanning process.
Agreed. I just googled leather tanning process. It's bad. Not sold on the recycled bit though. I'd rather have cotton or bamboo textiles. Thank you for your effort in creating more awareness.@@autogefuehl 👍
I have watch some DW documentaries about plastic recycling and it seems like most plastics can't be recycled or you can recycle it only once or it is sent to other countries for "recycling". I don't believe companies when they claim how much plastic they recycled because it is just a PR stunt. I do agree that plastic use in cars are for long-term use but at the end of its lifetime the plastic ends up on the rubbish anyway. In the end of the day we must look at how we can reduce the impact. However, companies don't want to pay and rather make the person who bought the product responsible.
It makes a good material for surfaces that aren’t frequently touched. But it’s a junk material as primary seat upholstery. Just like matte paint jobs, it looks great until it goes catastrophically bad.
Animal skin use is definitely more economically feasible, because people just eat cows, pure and simple. Cowhide is a by-product of meat production. Not to mention that leather lasts much longer than anything plastic. An Alcantara steering wheel after 4-5 years is shit, and needs to be replaced, even if you take really good care of it.
interesting video Thomas , would definitely watch similar topics. the enviro talk at the end was informative too! ps. a review of that lancia would be amazing ?!
Enough about the environment - how about what fabrics provide the best service for someone that invests in a car needing upholstery, and animal skin comes from cows - so a byproduct of food production- people are not going to reduce their meat intake and you would have people just throw skins away? And then create artificial fabrics??
Also leather lasts longer and can be easily repaired. Alcantara needs to be replaced and looks terrible after a year of use. And those vegan PU leathers from Tesla don't last and feel plastiky
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment. You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable. A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally. In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse? We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
@@autogefuehl thank you for you reply, that I've read fully. Now, full disclosure, I'm just a auto enthusiast, I'm not connected with any leather or meat industries, my profession is computer related. The value shown by BMW doesn't make much sense, it seems they take into account the entire emissions to breed a cow, when leather is actually a byproduct. The main problem with natural leather is the tanning process that in some countries uses chemicals that are bad for the environment, yet BMW says these account for only 20% of the emissions of real leather. It doesn't add up. The movie you shared related to the leather industry is typical PETA fearmongering. Yes, there are places where animals are treated terribly, but those are not indicative of the entire industry. As far as I know leather needs to be of good quality, with no insect bites or marks from barbed wire, and this means the cows need to be kept clean, in good conditions. In Portugal they roam free and are grass feed, and butcheries make sure you know where their beef comes from, they take pride from it, because a animal that is well kept produces better meat. It's like me showing you a video of the factories of Foxconn with the suicide nets, were chinese workers are exhausted to the point of committing suicide, but you still have an iPhone on your pocket. Sorry if I went a bit off-topic, but I'm very interested in emissions and there's a lot of greenwashing. I currently have two EVs, my next car will be an EV and it makes no sense that due to this anti-leather campaign new cars are now being sold with only cloth seats that are unhygienic, much more difficult to keep clean and looking good with the years. And these new materials are also uncomfortable. I did a test drive in the Polestar 2 and after 15 minutes my back was sweating. I've never had this happen in any car, but that WeaveTech material is terrible. I have yet still to find a high quality leatherette in car seats that feels as plush and soft as real leather. BMW Sensatec is nice, but it's not as good as real leather.
Wool is the answer. Cool in the summer and keeps heat in the winter. There is no animal cruelty involved and its not a synthetic material. Toyota uses it for their Crown top of the line cars. Most likely it would be impossible to scale it so that all car manufacturers would use wool for all their trims but its a natural and sustainable approach.
Tested in the recent Volvos, the wool share seat is hot in summer and scratchy on the skin. On the animal side, factory wool production involves cruelty plus the animals are slaughtered when wool quality isn’t sufficient anymore. ruclips.net/video/deHNomts8bo/видео.htmlsi=jvDCOBJBUW3QHk7Q
the so called environmental stuff at the end sounds like a bunch of WEF talking points to justify trillion dollar chemical factories. you realize ruminants change plant material into soil? this is the most natural and beneficial cycle on earth.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment. You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable. A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally. In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse? We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
we just disagree on this point. meat is one of the most unprocessed and healthy things you can eat and ruminants are essential for the soil on this planet. a byproduct of that symbiotic system is leather -- which is beautiful, smells great, and wears gracefully over a long time. do you not sense the irony of trying to reduce a few pounds of oil/plastic in a V8-V12 super car? I like alcantara too, but anyone watching this should absolutely question your environmental claims for themselves. @@autogefuehl
The problem with not using real leather is that we eat cows and other animals, so the skin is already there, we don't need to make another product if we have it. Sure, that is if it is enough of it, I haven't seen statistics about this. The other concern is with plastics and other human-made substances that are in contact with our body, like Teflon and the older (I hope) fire-proof substances that can have direct effects to our health. We are just starting to see that microplastics and teflon-like substances are in our blood, without knowing exactly the effects.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment. You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable. A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally. In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse? We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
Truth be told, Alcantara is a CHEAP, well marketed PLASTIC alternative to genuine leather that because of excellent marketing has resulted in the PERCEPTION that it is superior to genuine leather, when in reality it is not, it neither has the long term wear nor the durability properties of high quality genuine leather.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment. You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable. A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally. In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse? We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
i still don´t get this, i know we have discussed it, now we are talking Alcantara, which is polyester and polyurethane, it is as closed to plastic as can be, Let us just be angry with all the leather which as long as we consume meats comes from dead cows, and is fully recyclable. yes you have a CO2 byproduct. and talk Plastics that dies at some point on a garbage lot, even though yes some is reused, but that is not "cradle 2 cradle" this bullshit consumerism. has moved us into even more synthetics.... so polluting even more. the same with the whole anti nuclear movement, that has now forced us to go more polluting with alternatives.. this is all consumerism, and to be honest, we are still here where driving a car until it DIES is better than keep building new stuff, even electric, or others.... Okay maybe you don´t like the cow dying.. fine, then go textile.. PURE textile, then you can have sheeps running around.
Not sure if u watched the video till the end? Animal skin never has by far the worst impact on humans, animals, and the environment from all materials that are possible for the interior. It is not a simple byproduct, it requires a lot of energy, toxins, water, and many humans and animals suffer in the process. All animal skin seats are also coated with plastic. You can not recycle animal skins car seats.
We have a bunch of large animals to get leather and food from, no need to make plastic covered seats anymore. I can't even get my Subway meat sandwich with a plastic bag anymore, but can still get plastic lids for my drink and a plastic straw...wrapped in plastic. Cut the preaching out, and you had a good vid.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment. You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable. A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally. In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse? We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
People refuse to recognize how water intensive and inefficient raising animals for our consumption really is. The meat & animal bi-products industries have brainwashed people into believing that these processes are small scale local operations with minimal impact. Even the smallest fine leather producers in Morocco have extremely water intensive processes. Smilar operations in Asia for example leave locals without clean water used for bathing drinking or washing clothes.
Is leather not a byproduct of the beef industry? The cows are being slaughtered for there food regardless of whether the hides are used for leather. Can it then be argued that the environmental impact of using a byproduct vs discarding it makes leather one of the more environmentally friendly options? Just sayin...
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment. You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable. A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally. In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse? We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment. You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable. A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally. In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse? We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
Interesting video. With regards to the CO2 associated with leather, do the calculations assume that the hides used are effectively a waste product from food production? If so, this will alter significantly the amount of carbon for leather, because you’re using a natural product that would otherwise go to waste
animal leather is not a natural product, it is highly processed. These calculations are even just based on economic impact (share the profit of the hide has for the producer and this part of the whole co2 output), so the real impact on environment and animals isnt even in that calculation.
Great video. A lot of people like the ease of cleaning, that comes with the leather seats. It would have been interesting to hear a bit materials, that try to match those features. I've also seen some manufacturers use wool on seats.
They have abandoned animal skin because man made fabrics are cheaper and supply chain is easily managed. It's all about supply chain, the key to whole sustainability game should be optimisation of the supply chains. It doesn't matter if energy is "green" if it's waisted! Food is even more critical.
Guess its only me who do not even slightly consider a car with PET interior, alcantara is a fat joke. I also would never buy a car like tesla with polyurethane seats, they will go to shit. I will only buy a car with leather. All other cars are irrelevant. It´s not about the material, it´s about woke green lefties given some kind of air.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment. You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable. A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally. In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse? We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment. You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable. A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally. In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse? We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
The crucial point is that by every new funding of that process, including giving money to factories to use animal hide, you make killing mammals more profitable. As a customer, you pay for what shall be done. I rather pay for new modern materials where companies try their best to minimize their impact while not using animals or oppressing humans.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment. You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable. A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally. In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse? We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
It is basically pet bottles. I have no idea one chooses to sit on pet bottles rather than sitting on a quality genuine real leather or suede. Would you wear polyester trousers or well made wool trousers? After a while Alcantara looks very oily and smells like a fart. .
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment. You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable. A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally. In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse? We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
No. Say no to microplastics. If you don't like meat by products, buy a biodegradable fiber from plants or fungi instead. Alcantara is not the answer - microfiber abrasion from cars will create air pollution inside your own car (you're breathing in microplastics), and uses a low-renewable resource (virgin oil), which increases demand on oil. Plastics are fantastic for real physical properties (barrier, low weight, high strength) - these are not valuable properties in a car seat, in an airplane body - yes! Alcantara exists because it temporarily (as of the 21st century) leverages the lowest cost of production (cheap oil), in making a cheap product (car seats) and marketing it to people who don't understand enough of science or economics. Today, we throw away and consume the cheapest material cost - plastic. Tomorrow, plastics will become an expensive material as we run out of oil, and be limited in its uses to its real advantages, which are strength, durability, stability, weight, barrier properties etc.
Tomas, you haven't considered or researched the full time-scale, depth and breadth of available materials versus the emerging research on the negative impacts of microplastic air and water pollution effects on animal cells. The worst part of it is that microplastics can not be recovered or removed easily like macroplastics. The question of microplastic removal or recovery in the future will threaten the basis of all macroplastic infrastructure in the world (electronic devices, insulation for wiring, seals, integral components of building material etc). @@autogefuehl
I agree that microplastics are a huge problem, thats why plant fibre seats are the future. I just think that car seats from microfibre are not our main problem/source of microplastics
Good one, Thomas. The question on "the alternative" is absolutely crucial, as you said. One must also keep form, function and sustainability in mind. Although for car interiors and even home furniture Alcantara is perfectly suited and a better alternative than animal skin, there are purposes where the durability of animal leather is unmatched, such as heavy duty boots. I have tested several materials myself, and when it comes to hiking boots, my yak leather boots are the most durable and easy to maintain, going strong even after 7 years of regular use. The choice of animal leather vs plastic alternatives depends on the application. Great to have such videos on technologies behind the cars we love, keep them coming. How about a video on the recycling of tyres? Cheers, Govind
Now seeing how this is made...i kinda feel robbed to pay so much for alcantara. There is almost nothing handmade. Machines do it all and the material itself is actually nothing special, just different processed...hmm
Very informative video with very solid argumentation against using animal skin. Recently shopping for a Porsche, I was surprised and disappointed that animal skin seats were the only choice on the "S" trim 718. Alcantara or even fabric would have been superior in my opinion.
Informative, but hardly objective. You efforts are admirable, but we already know you're pro animal free. So any presentation you make will be lean in that direction. Anyway, Alcantara is a brand for a synthetic fabric/suede. Alcantara is to suede what Lycra is to elastane/spandex.
Even scientists disagree in many parameters and there will never be a consensus about which fabric is better for a planet but it is certainly one that would be plant / soil based. Maybe not leather but certainly and even less synthetic fibres inc alcantara and that alcantara production plant really looks like a monster....making me wonder what happen to all the effluents and emissions that it produces... Regardless: you are not a scientist, this is not a science forum and you would be better by refraining to bring here your personal beliefs (like I am here refraining to state my own arguments to counter argue your own ones) based on whatever figures you may have got or risk transforming your own channel into an eco warrior one that is not worth watching although you have trying it for a long while: in each and every video there is always a tiny or a big snipe at it. Sad. Your constant crusade against leather favouring plastic is one you may want to re-think but I will here refrain to defend any option whatsoever as this is not the space to do it.
If a material is connected to cruelty towards animals and humans, it is an obligation to mention it in a car review - especially when good alternatives are present. And these materials can be enhanced further as stated. Some conceive it as "eco warrior" just because this is about cows. If dog skin would be used, you would not even think to criticize me but applaud me. Think about why.
Thank you -Excellent Vid ... This video confirms to me that Alcantara is not a premium material when compared to real leather. I understand why now it is replacing leather more and more and I am ok with this, nor do I not mind it in my own cars but when compared to leather ...no comparison.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment. You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable. A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally. In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse? We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
Thomas, I love these types of videos because it’s not possible to get this type of unbiased information anywhere else. I have seen people argue that the animal skin from cows is from the meat industry and these skins are going to be thrown away if there is no market for them. Is any of that true? We are only talking about mass production vehicles, not Rolls Royce level animal skin. Thank you so much Thomas, your channel is awesome.
What is true is that the meat consumption of "modern" countries has become that excessive that you have a lot of dead mammal body parts available. The crucial point is however that by every new funding of that process, including giving money to factories to use animal hide, you make killing mammals more profitable. As a customer, you pay for what shall be done. I rather pay for new modern materials where companies try their best to minimize their impact while not using animals or oppressing humans.
@@autogefuehlThank you Thomas! I now have the information that I was missing when combatting those that don’t care about using non animal products when making choices about what to buy. The best thing that I learned from you years ago is to call it what it is, animal skin and not leather, because that sounds like a wonderful product.
What I said is what I researched and not what Alcantara tells me. I dont think Alcantara as it is produced right now is the future, like I said, future belongs to plant fibres and plant oil
as we all know, and some don't want to agree with, oil and gas is still needed for all of us for many things in our lives. If we remove oil and gas, we will need alternatives. Until that time, we need oil and gas.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment. You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable. A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally. In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse? We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
Not wanting to take anything away from what you said about plastic in car seats, but the thing about natural materials like actual real leather is that the animals for the leather aren't purely breed and used for the leather. These animals (and so the CO2 produced by them) ddo not just serve one purpose: Leather hides, foodproduction (dairy products, meat), and keeping meadows free form trees. (The last one is the weakest argument, but each year there are events here in the alps where people are assembled by radio and newspapers to "keep alpine meadows free from trees" as due to less and less kettle being lept up there, more and more of the open areas grow full with bushes and trees. I personally don't see the problem with having more trees, as it's benefitial for the climate, water and even helps against erosion way better than flowers and different kinds of grass. But biologists are in heated argumentation that this would mean fewer kinds of insects and plants in the area.)
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment. You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable. A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally. In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse? We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
@@autogefuehl While i agree to almost all of the first part of your answer, the end becomes really wacky and conspiracy theory like. At the end, you sound like the people that are so far removed from their food, that they have no clue where it comes from. I learned from a young age on, that we don't kill animals just for one small thing like furr, antlers... IF an animal is killed, everything gets used. Nothing is to be wasted. And no, not every leather product has a layer of plastic on top. And with such leather you don't get microplastic into the envirement, and need less oil. As much as i prefer microfibre and cloth carseats over leather seats myself, every time we get in and out of the car, that rubbing over the seatm means to remove tiny particles of plastic that the world currently is so anxious about. Called microplastic.
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00:00 Alcantara for the Kimera EVO37
01:34 Factory tour: first raw material
02:34 Unraveling for fine structure
03:33 Condensing for make it sturdy
04:00 Second ingredient
04:16 Dyeing process for coloring
05:07 Individual styles and stitching
07:52 Alcantara fashion and furniture
08:18 The plastic argument
#Alcantara
Transparency note: Autogefühl videos are independent and free from editorial influence on opinion and rating. But since manufacturers enable us to do the reviews in the first place, for legal reasons this video is marked as _advertisement_.
11:41 yes, but you could also compare it to vegetable tanned leather that comes from pasture raised cattle, slaughtered on-site/pasture and as a byproduct of meat production.
meat production isn’t going away anytime soon, so the “production” chain might as well be heavily regulated with regards to animal welfare. and while you probably can’t push this thru on national/EU level (yet), you certainly could push it on car manufacturer level 🤷♂️
(disclaimer: i’m a flexitarian and prefer alcantara/velour/fabric seats to leather/leatherette)
@@kam_iko The "byproduct" argument counts as little as we should take the skins of dead dogs because their skin is available. If we pay for dead mammals in a car, we fund the industry that earns money with killing.
Plastic is a kind of "HC" combination. With wind and solar power we can extract H from water (H2O), and C from CO2. Then we "put" H and C together.
Then we could talk of a short circuit, instead of the long circuit in the nature.
The first step is made that's it to make H2 of solar and wind power.
This material is missing in the Tesla option list.
Plastic seats and poor ergonomy put me of from buying T3.
Bought Superb Scout wit alcantata instead. Prrfect ergonomy and nice seats. Same price range 😉
@@autogefuehlThey are still going to be killed for food, so the leather is available anyway.
Far more animals are being slaughtered for food then they are for their leather, abandoning leather all together would mean that that resource just gets wasted.
What I really question about leather is, sure, animal leather is biodegradable as it is, but I have never seen a study to see how degradable it is after being processed. That would be interesting information, since it's almost impossible to recycle, unless you have a good piece that fits your use and just re-treat it.
This is a great new development in Autogefuhl content. It gets away from just coverage of new vehicles and tells us more about the industries which go into the vehicles. So thank you Thomas.
That is not to say I want to see a whole series on seat cover technology. It does however open up content about energy storage technologies for vehicles (batteries, hydrogen, fuel cells) where a lot is happening; developments in the thousands of chips which now go into our cars; energy recuperation technology, much of it from F1; and of course there are the new electric motor developments. There is a whole lot to mine here and keep us informed.
I still want the car reviews though.
THIS is why your channel is the best car review channel on the internet! Very good and informative video!!
🙏🙏
i have a porsche gt4 and not really a fan of alcantara. i would prefer leather, especially high touch surfaces like steering wheel, shift knob, arm rest, console and seat inserts. Alcantara picks up dirt and hand grease and needs to be cleaned and fluffed frequently so therefore is a high maintenance fabric. I would prefer leather for most things in the car. Dashboard, headliner, fine.
matter of preference, all slick surfaces however can be made in high-grade leatherette
Alcantara is a Synthetic Suede (Fake Suede). I personally don't like it, I don't believe it to be a "premium" material. But the brand has an incredible marketing team and auto brands have been using it for a while because they can overcharge customers a premium for this fake and inexpensive material.
Soooo... it's just polyester microfiber cloth... that we get charged for as if it's some luxury upgrade.
What I'm curious about is the markup they put on Alcantara. Being a mass produced plastic product I would imagine it's a pretty cheap product to make overall. I suppose what bugs me about it is I get the impression it's one of those products that's mostly marketing and they're over charging for what the product should be. Now, some will argue if they can charge that much and people will pay it then good for them. OK, sure. But that doesn't mean I have to fall for it. I personally try to avoid supporting products like that.
and now it's only natural that you visit the vegan leather factory!
Lol!
@@alanincentraljersey why
You mean the plastic factory?
The nylon factory!
there we go with the plastic argument again 🥱
As someone who has worked in a landfill. Leather seats decompose. Microfibre ones dont.
A microfibre seat you can easily burn and gain energy from it. A car leather seat is tanned and coated in order not to decompose
People are also not really taking into account how damaging the microplastics from these products entering our ecosystem and bodies is, in terms of cancers, immune dysfunction etc. I understand some of the "humane" arguments but the accumulation of plastics will end up wiping out everything in the end anyways. Many of the whitepapers and detection rates of the microplastics released this year are scary.
I m totally pro plant fibres, however car seats is the least problem of microplastics
Fantastic video, Thomas. Thank you for this deep dive. It’s great to see how Alcantara is being made and especially the Complex Manufacturing shows how much work goes into a special car seat. THANK YOU! 😊
👍🙏
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This is the worse material for the steering wheel- how an earth are you supposed to clean it?!
Fantastic work Thomas. The best automotive journalist in my eyes. And personally I absolutely love the German lessons you provide us with! Thank you
Thanks so much m8!
I always like factory tours and this was a nice one. However I did not know that Alcantara is using plastic PU. Not a fan.
Real leather is much more sustainable despite all these plastic based vegan fabrics and leathers.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
@@autogefuehl It's a pity that my comment-response with my links-references-citations (even in German academic papers) was either deleted or blocked.
Perfect work Thomas great Video. I think Alcantara first introduction in Autobianchi Y10 1985. Later renamed Lancia Y10. Had some in the interior and a small handy document bag that came with the car. That is what I remember from my Dad's car. The Autobianchi Y10 in 1985 it was amazing, had lots of luxury and tech for the price. We had one, the colour name was Petro Blue. Funny cocktail with the black trunk. Do you remember that car? Autobianchi Y10 and Autobianchi Y10 Turbo. Curiosity Alcantara is also a place in Lisbon were we lived. 🎉🎉thank you for your great video
Good info thanks 🙏
I remember that car and its alcantara interior. It looked great! 😍😍
Very very good video again Thomas. Thanks! Especially the explanation in the end about plastic use in car fabrics.
Thanks m8!
Thank you, very interesting. I dont particularly like leather car seats and would prefer fabric, however the cows will still be killed for their meat. So unless that changes it seems to make more sense to use the byproduct which would otherwise be thrown away than use oil/plastic products.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
@@autogefuehl thank you for the detailed reply. In my last 3 cars there was no choice but leather, hopefully next time there will be an alternative. Keep up the excellent car reviews, they are the best on you tube 👍
Thanks so much!
overpriced microfiber cloth.
Alcantara is made from Microfiber, the same thing that inexpensive bed linen is made of. Just woven differently.
And it causes allergies
It's a cheap material that kind of looks premium but is fragile and difficult to maintain
Horrible stuff, pig's ear rather than silk purse
It's basically plastic. Some precipitate from some petrol related reaction. Not sure why this is good but I guess the Ministry of Truth has repeated it enough so it must be good.
Yummy yummy microplastics, eat them up yum yum!
Excellent informative video. Essentially, [recycled] plastic pellets are shown to become an ultra durable synthetic suede like material through many processes. Really interesting stuff.
👍👍
Thank you for a great and informative video about Alcantara. In the closing climate speech I agree with many of the points made. I don't think animals are killed just to give us leather car interiors, shoes and what not. These leather things are bi-products and why feel bad about putting something to use, which otherwise probably is burnt to produce heat.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
very cool format. Please keep making this kind of content, it's very interesting and informative!
cheers !
I bet Mat Watson will do the similar video soon 🤣🤣🤣
The video I never knew I needed😅
hehe awesome =)
@9:35 Genuinely misleading information here. There are a multitude of products made from these animals. Pretty sure you cannot eat crude oil or PET pellets. Give the full scope here, Thomas.
Claiming I would give misleading information is outrageous. I have researched this topic for 10 years, you can be sure I have done my homework. The information in this video is 100 % accurate.
@@autogefuehl the implication of your argument is that animal products, such as leather, is the single-use outcome of such an industry. It neglects to mention all the products made from the processing of cows (albeit aside from the leather hides itself); everything from the meat, bones & connective tissue (collagen), even insulin; instead, animal cruelty and CO2 emissions are highlighted in your position. It is an incredibly myopic argument and for that reason I'm stating it as "misleading information".
Plastics are often single-use in scope and actually require more energy utilization in its recycling/ repurposing. I don't doubt your research here, but I do question whether or not it's been as egalitarian in perspective.
My point is that the animal industry is responsible for animal and human cruelty and I dont want to support that industry. I m not a fan of plastic, however at this moment, this is a better solution and the future solution will be also 100 % plastic free with plant-based fibres. That's all I am saying. That the animal is used entirely is not a good thing, because when we look at mammals, it is not about efficiency, but about decency. Acting ethically. If it would be dogs, we would not even dare to discuss if we use all the body parts. Now ask yourself why we find it disgusting to use dog body parts but efficient to use cow body parts? Just because someone told us to see it this say. This is the only reason. But there is no logical, ethical or biological reason to treat dogs and cows in a different way. All just cultural.
@@autogefuehl Appears to be a bit of conflation on the issue: domesticated animals, i.e. dogs or cats, were bred with a specific intent to keep otherwise wild/ non-domesticated animals as human companions-selecting certain traits for specific purposes/ reasons-in this way the comparison between dog and cow falls completely flat.
Cattle, along with other husbandry, fulfill a very specific agrarian/ agricultural role in society. Can you think of any other technology/ devices that can be used to maintain land (i.e lawn mowing) that doesn’t require additional energy expenditure? From the manpower to run the service; fuel for i.c.e mowers; or electricity to run battery-powered lawn equipment (which itself hasn’t yet been scaled to maintain anything larger than suburban residential plots); cattle graze lands for free-in fact, fulfilling a life cycle of feeding these animals.
The point being, that husbandry is a very holistic industry which is why the efficiency of their use in products is important and ought not be minimized. Another sad fact of the life cycle is that any living being will eventually die. So the efficacy of such a cycle is incredibly important to consider. Though I do think one could make the argument for the most humane treatment of animals and humans in said industry/ industrial processes. Improvements can always be made and should be championed.
A closing thought to consider: if all mammalian life is to be on equal par per your earlier argument (dogs to cows).. if a squirrel were to run in front of one of the cars you were reviewing on a test drive, would you swerve off the road to avoid striking it? I’d think perhaps not.
Now what if that squirrel were instead the family dog? This is the inherent trouble using Apples to Oranges in comparisons.
The role is what we give them. They are all mammals and there is no ethical reason to treat them differently. Assuming that a cow has a role to be slaughtered is an ideology of speciesism.
Interesting. Though I like leather seats, and meat.
Very informative and interesting video. We added it to the Alcantara section of our large "Seat upholstery & materials" article for seats. Maybe you get the possibility to visit the Dinamica factory also. They claim to be more sustainable than Alcantara. (But I know they have been fighting in the courts over that claims). Keep up the good work for the car community!
Thanks 🙏
Will recycled material give me cancer in the long run?
Now why would that be?
Plastic trash is so dirty. That is why people throw it away. They don't keep it in their houses or even near their homes. Trash burning facilities are usually outside cities where tires and other plastics are burned up.
I don't know that it would give me cancer. I am just speculating because it has a lot of impurities and once recycled it would be in constant contact with my body. Just being wary of something new before sufficient studies are done.@@autogefuehl
If plastic trash is collected thoroughly and then burned, it is actually not such a big problem. The problem is when it lands in the environment in an uncontrolled way. Main sources of cancer are however not microfibre car seats... a animal skin leather seat is e.g. way more dangerous because of the tanning process.
Agreed. I just googled leather tanning process. It's bad.
Not sold on the recycled bit though.
I'd rather have cotton or bamboo textiles.
Thank you for your effort in creating more awareness.@@autogefuehl
👍
Plant fibres should be the future defo
The Downpart of Alcantara is that it wears out rather quickly compared to leather or cloth. It is also high maintenance as it gets dirty quickly.
all depends on the quality grade that is used in comparison. There are bad quality grades of materials out there and good quality grades
I agree - nothing is as good as genuine, quality leather for ease of cleaning, longevity and the feel which improves with age.
Thomas is so clever and he also looks the part , a really look up to him he's just so class and handsome ❤
thanks my friend !
I have watch some DW documentaries about plastic recycling and it seems like most plastics can't be recycled or you can recycle it only once or it is sent to other countries for "recycling". I don't believe companies when they claim how much plastic they recycled because it is just a PR stunt. I do agree that plastic use in cars are for long-term use but at the end of its lifetime the plastic ends up on the rubbish anyway. In the end of the day we must look at how we can reduce the impact. However, companies don't want to pay and rather make the person who bought the product responsible.
Recycling indeed only makes sense if it is done correctly and efficient. That's why it is even more important to take the most efficient raw materials
Interesting and informative,, 👍👍
Thank you Thomas.
👍
It makes a good material for surfaces that aren’t frequently touched. But it’s a junk material as primary seat upholstery. Just like matte paint jobs, it looks great until it goes catastrophically bad.
Animal skin use is definitely more economically feasible, because people just eat cows, pure and simple. Cowhide is a by-product of meat production. Not to mention that leather lasts much longer than anything plastic. An Alcantara steering wheel after 4-5 years is shit, and needs to be replaced, even if you take really good care of it.
interesting video Thomas , would definitely watch similar topics. the enviro talk at the end was informative too!
ps. a review of that lancia would be amazing ?!
Appreciated!
Yeah sadly didnt have time for the Kimera
I think Alcantara is tacky, ugly, and not durable. We don't use suede anymore, so why that ugly thing? Oh, because is cheap and they sell as premium
Enough about the environment - how about what fabrics provide the best service for someone that invests in a car needing upholstery, and animal skin comes from cows - so a byproduct of food production- people are not going to reduce their meat intake and you would have people just throw skins away? And then create artificial fabrics??
Also leather lasts longer and can be easily repaired.
Alcantara needs to be replaced and looks terrible after a year of use.
And those vegan PU leathers from Tesla don't last and feel plastiky
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
It is about the quality grade. Most expensive and durable leather is leatherette used for luxury yachts
@@autogefuehl thank you for you reply, that I've read fully. Now, full disclosure, I'm just a auto enthusiast, I'm not connected with any leather or meat industries, my profession is computer related.
The value shown by BMW doesn't make much sense, it seems they take into account the entire emissions to breed a cow, when leather is actually a byproduct. The main problem with natural leather is the tanning process that in some countries uses chemicals that are bad for the environment, yet BMW says these account for only 20% of the emissions of real leather. It doesn't add up.
The movie you shared related to the leather industry is typical PETA fearmongering. Yes, there are places where animals are treated terribly, but those are not indicative of the entire industry. As far as I know leather needs to be of good quality, with no insect bites or marks from barbed wire, and this means the cows need to be kept clean, in good conditions.
In Portugal they roam free and are grass feed, and butcheries make sure you know where their beef comes from, they take pride from it, because a animal that is well kept produces better meat.
It's like me showing you a video of the factories of Foxconn with the suicide nets, were chinese workers are exhausted to the point of committing suicide, but you still have an iPhone on your pocket.
Sorry if I went a bit off-topic, but I'm very interested in emissions and there's a lot of greenwashing.
I currently have two EVs, my next car will be an EV and it makes no sense that due to this anti-leather campaign new cars are now being sold with only cloth seats that are unhygienic, much more difficult to keep clean and looking good with the years.
And these new materials are also uncomfortable. I did a test drive in the Polestar 2 and after 15 minutes my back was sweating. I've never had this happen in any car, but that WeaveTech material is terrible.
I have yet still to find a high quality leatherette in car seats that feels as plush and soft as real leather. BMW Sensatec is nice, but it's not as good as real leather.
Best Car Channel 💪🔥 without the nonsense and straight to the point and great car Rewievs...
thanks so much !!
Wool is the answer. Cool in the summer and keeps heat in the winter. There is no animal cruelty involved and its not a synthetic material. Toyota uses it for their Crown top of the line cars. Most likely it would be impossible to scale it so that all car manufacturers would use wool for all their trims but its a natural and sustainable approach.
Tested in the recent Volvos, the wool share seat is hot in summer and scratchy on the skin. On the animal side, factory wool production involves cruelty plus the animals are slaughtered when wool quality isn’t sufficient anymore. ruclips.net/video/deHNomts8bo/видео.htmlsi=jvDCOBJBUW3QHk7Q
Excellent work Thomas. Appreciate you and your team. 👍
Highly appreciated!!
Nothing nastier than an Alcantara steering wheel. Not sure who's idea it was to use Alcantara for surfaces that you touch.
the so called environmental stuff at the end sounds like a bunch of WEF talking points to justify trillion dollar chemical factories. you realize ruminants change plant material into soil? this is the most natural and beneficial cycle on earth.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
we just disagree on this point. meat is one of the most unprocessed and healthy things you can eat and ruminants are essential for the soil on this planet. a byproduct of that symbiotic system is leather -- which is beautiful, smells great, and wears gracefully over a long time. do you not sense the irony of trying to reduce a few pounds of oil/plastic in a V8-V12 super car? I like alcantara too, but anyone watching this should absolutely question your environmental claims for themselves. @@autogefuehl
The problem with not using real leather is that we eat cows and other animals, so the skin is already there, we don't need to make another product if we have it. Sure, that is if it is enough of it, I haven't seen statistics about this. The other concern is with plastics and other human-made substances that are in contact with our body, like Teflon and the older (I hope) fire-proof substances that can have direct effects to our health. We are just starting to see that microplastics and teflon-like substances are in our blood, without knowing exactly the effects.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
Truth be told, Alcantara is a CHEAP, well marketed PLASTIC alternative to genuine leather that because of excellent marketing has resulted in the PERCEPTION that it is superior to genuine leather, when in reality it is not, it neither has the long term wear nor the durability properties of high quality genuine leather.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
i still don´t get this, i know we have discussed it, now we are talking Alcantara, which is polyester and polyurethane, it is as closed to plastic as can be, Let us just be angry with all the leather which as long as we consume meats comes from dead cows, and is fully recyclable. yes you have a CO2 byproduct. and talk Plastics that dies at some point on a garbage lot, even though yes some is reused, but that is not "cradle 2 cradle" this bullshit consumerism. has moved us into even more synthetics.... so polluting even more. the same with the whole anti nuclear movement, that has now forced us to go more polluting with alternatives.. this is all consumerism, and to be honest, we are still here where driving a car until it DIES is better than keep building new stuff, even electric, or others.... Okay maybe you don´t like the cow dying.. fine, then go textile.. PURE textile, then you can have sheeps running around.
Not sure if u watched the video till the end? Animal skin never has by far the worst impact on humans, animals, and the environment from all materials that are possible for the interior. It is not a simple byproduct, it requires a lot of energy, toxins, water, and many humans and animals suffer in the process. All animal skin seats are also coated with plastic. You can not recycle animal skins car seats.
We have a bunch of large animals to get leather and food from, no need to make plastic covered seats anymore. I can't even get my Subway meat sandwich with a plastic bag anymore, but can still get plastic lids for my drink and a plastic straw...wrapped in plastic. Cut the preaching out, and you had a good vid.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
People refuse to recognize how water intensive and inefficient raising animals for our consumption really is. The meat & animal bi-products industries have brainwashed people into believing that these processes are small scale local operations with minimal impact. Even the smallest fine leather producers in Morocco have extremely water intensive processes. Smilar operations in Asia for example leave locals without clean water used for bathing drinking or washing clothes.
Exactly like u say.
Great video, I definitely learned some things about Alcantara!
Is leather not a byproduct of the beef industry? The cows are being slaughtered for there food regardless of whether the hides are used for leather. Can it then be argued that the environmental impact of using a byproduct vs discarding it makes leather one of the more environmentally friendly options?
Just sayin...
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
Only real leather tho, nappa team
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
I'm with you @Cernold. Give me real leather, take care of it, make it last 👌
Interesting video. With regards to the CO2 associated with leather, do the calculations assume that the hides used are effectively a waste product from food production? If so, this will alter significantly the amount of carbon for leather, because you’re using a natural product that would otherwise go to waste
animal leather is not a natural product, it is highly processed. These calculations are even just based on economic impact (share the profit of the hide has for the producer and this part of the whole co2 output), so the real impact on environment and animals isnt even in that calculation.
Ah, so Alcantara and Ultrasuede are brands of microfiber materials.
Ya, Dinamica is another manufacturer for example.
Thanks for a detailed report! So much work into the product creation! Hope you got a pair of Alcantara pants for your girlfriend 😂
😄
Great video. A lot of people like the ease of cleaning, that comes with the leather seats. It would have been interesting to hear a bit materials, that try to match those features. I've also seen some manufacturers use wool on seats.
Soo Alcantara is made from PETROL. ALMOST "eco friendly" but 100% animal free 😊
08:18
@@autogefuehlYes..i change my comment based on that explanation. 😊Not perfect...but almost there!
They have abandoned animal skin because man made fabrics are cheaper and supply chain is easily managed. It's all about supply chain, the key to whole sustainability game should be optimisation of the supply chains. It doesn't matter if energy is "green" if it's waisted! Food is even more critical.
Guess its only me who do not even slightly consider a car with PET interior, alcantara is a fat joke. I also would never buy a car like tesla with polyurethane seats, they will go to shit. I will only buy a car with leather. All other cars are irrelevant. It´s not about the material, it´s about woke green lefties given some kind of air.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
lol😂 I thought it was a product that is made out of animal skin🙆🏽♂️my Audi A3 has alcantara/leather seats, I love them❤
As long as we eat beef and drink milk, eat cheese etc, we should also use the hides… 🙄
The crucial point is that by every new funding of that process, including giving money to factories to use animal hide, you make killing mammals more profitable. As a customer, you pay for what shall be done. I rather pay for new modern materials where companies try their best to minimize their impact while not using animals or oppressing humans.
Surely, leather is a by product of the meat industry so why not make use of it
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
Great video... although I don't actually like Alcantara as a material.
Thanks please share!
It doesn’t wear well on steering wheels. I prefer leather
Excellent! More videos like this!
Autogefuhl is the best!
😎👍
Thomas you are not correct CO2 from human activity is only 5% and CO2 does not affect temperature and CO2 is only way to get enough food
This is really interesting! Big thanks Thomas and the team.👍👍
thanks for tuning in !
It is basically pet bottles. I have no idea one chooses to sit on pet bottles rather than sitting on a quality genuine real leather or suede. Would you wear polyester trousers or well made wool trousers?
After a while Alcantara looks very oily and smells like a fart. .
😂
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
No. Say no to microplastics. If you don't like meat by products, buy a biodegradable fiber from plants or fungi instead. Alcantara is not the answer - microfiber abrasion from cars will create air pollution inside your own car (you're breathing in microplastics), and uses a low-renewable resource (virgin oil), which increases demand on oil. Plastics are fantastic for real physical properties (barrier, low weight, high strength) - these are not valuable properties in a car seat, in an airplane body - yes! Alcantara exists because it temporarily (as of the 21st century) leverages the lowest cost of production (cheap oil), in making a cheap product (car seats) and marketing it to people who don't understand enough of science or economics. Today, we throw away and consume the cheapest material cost - plastic. Tomorrow, plastics will become an expensive material as we run out of oil, and be limited in its uses to its real advantages, which are strength, durability, stability, weight, barrier properties etc.
08:15
Tomas, you haven't considered or researched the full time-scale, depth and breadth of available materials versus the emerging research on the negative impacts of microplastic air and water pollution effects on animal cells. The worst part of it is that microplastics can not be recovered or removed easily like macroplastics. The question of microplastic removal or recovery in the future will threaten the basis of all macroplastic infrastructure in the world (electronic devices, insulation for wiring, seals, integral components of building material etc). @@autogefuehl
I agree that microplastics are a huge problem, thats why plant fibre seats are the future. I just think that car seats from microfibre are not our main problem/source of microplastics
Think I’ll stick to proper suede
In cars you ll always find this here for a good reason
@@autogefuehl both age horribly and are impractical for auto applications. At least suede smells nice and expensive lol
@@GlitterGuru I have Alcantara in my personal car and it's totally fine
@@GlitterGuru smells "expensive"? I would love to sell you products ;)
@@joakimlundstrom5497 nothing beats the smell of leather, babe
Cheap garbage material
It begins to fall apart from day one o ownership. Leather is KING
true true
@@WinnerTV1 false false
You dont have to share enthusiasm for microfibre, but animal skin leather is king of this: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html
Mushroom leather its developing as well. I hope one day we will find a good replacement for plastic
IMO, the only way humans could destroy the earth, is by the use of nuclear weapons.
Good one, Thomas. The question on "the alternative" is absolutely crucial, as you said. One must also keep form, function and sustainability in mind. Although for car interiors and even home furniture Alcantara is perfectly suited and a better alternative than animal skin, there are purposes where the durability of animal leather is unmatched, such as heavy duty boots. I have tested several materials myself, and when it comes to hiking boots, my yak leather boots are the most durable and easy to maintain, going strong even after 7 years of regular use. The choice of animal leather vs plastic alternatives depends on the application. Great to have such videos on technologies behind the cars we love, keep them coming. How about a video on the recycling of tyres? Cheers, Govind
👍
I prefer leather made from animal skin.
A very interesting & informative video really good well done 👍👍👍
Highly appreciated!
Now seeing how this is made...i kinda feel robbed to pay so much for alcantara. There is almost nothing handmade. Machines do it all and the material itself is actually nothing special, just different processed...hmm
maybe we have a chance to visit the competitors and see the difference
Next time you have a nice steak, rest assured that the cow skin is going to waste. Lovely.
Very informative video with very solid argumentation against using animal skin. Recently shopping for a Porsche, I was surprised and disappointed that animal skin seats were the only choice on the "S" trim 718. Alcantara or even fabric would have been superior in my opinion.
Cheers m8! Yeah I agree
Informative, but hardly objective. You efforts are admirable, but we already know you're pro animal free. So any presentation you make will be lean in that direction.
Anyway, Alcantara is a brand for a synthetic fabric/suede. Alcantara is to suede what Lycra is to elastane/spandex.
Ofc i m pro animal free. Doesnt mean that I think Alcantara is best. And also not the long term solution. But good solution for the moment.
wow I had no idea, I figured it was a natural fiber. really impressive to see behind the curtain.
dust magnet - no thanks. just give me real leather
if you want something to wipe clean you ll also be fine with high-grade slick leatherette
It was originally invented and manufactured in JAPAN in one factory. It was specifically designed to be a synthetic version of suede leather.
that's true!
Even scientists disagree in many parameters and there will never be a consensus about which fabric is better for a planet but it is certainly one that would be plant / soil based. Maybe not leather but certainly and even less synthetic fibres inc alcantara and that alcantara production plant really looks like a monster....making me wonder what happen to all the effluents and emissions that it produces... Regardless: you are not a scientist, this is not a science forum and you would be better by refraining to bring here your personal beliefs (like I am here refraining to state my own arguments to counter argue your own ones) based on whatever figures you may have got or risk transforming your own channel into an eco warrior one that is not worth watching although you have trying it for a long while: in each and every video there is always a tiny or a big snipe at it. Sad. Your constant crusade against leather favouring plastic is one you may want to re-think but I will here refrain to defend any option whatsoever as this is not the space to do it.
If a material is connected to cruelty towards animals and humans, it is an obligation to mention it in a car review - especially when good alternatives are present. And these materials can be enhanced further as stated. Some conceive it as "eco warrior" just because this is about cows. If dog skin would be used, you would not even think to criticize me but applaud me. Think about why.
Thank you -Excellent Vid ... This video confirms to me that Alcantara is not a premium material when compared to real leather. I understand why now it is replacing leather more and more and I am ok with this, nor do I not mind it in my own cars but when compared to leather ...no comparison.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
The thing is, leather will last the lifetime of the car, whereas alcantara gets destroyed pretty easly
....Wow very well done-absoloutely amazing video, learned so much new info, thank you so much for the video😃😃.. Takecare..
thanks keep tuning in !
Installed the GT350 "Alcantara" steering wheel on my more ordinary Mustang GT and its sehr schön 😊. I clean it with baby wipes 🤔.
Thomas, I love these types of videos because it’s not possible to get this type of unbiased information anywhere else. I have seen people argue that the animal skin from cows is from the meat industry and these skins are going to be thrown away if there is no market for them. Is any of that true? We are only talking about mass production vehicles, not Rolls Royce level animal skin. Thank you so much Thomas, your channel is awesome.
Cheers! U re welcome!
What is true is that the meat consumption of "modern" countries has become that excessive that you have a lot of dead mammal body parts available. The crucial point is however that by every new funding of that process, including giving money to factories to use animal hide, you make killing mammals more profitable. As a customer, you pay for what shall be done. I rather pay for new modern materials where companies try their best to minimize their impact while not using animals or oppressing humans.
@@autogefuehlThank you Thomas! I now have the information that I was missing when combatting those that don’t care about using non animal products when making choices about what to buy. The best thing that I learned from you years ago is to call it what it is, animal skin and not leather, because that sounds like a wonderful product.
Highly appreciated my friend!
Am I the only one who hates this product. If I see it in a car I puke.
Die kleine Maus presented by thomasletsgo! 😁
you are a nice guy, but please do not interfere with companies propaganda agenda. let us know how it is made that's enough
What I said is what I researched and not what Alcantara tells me. I dont think Alcantara as it is produced right now is the future, like I said, future belongs to plant fibres and plant oil
as we all know, and some don't want to agree with, oil and gas is still needed for all of us for many things in our lives. If we remove oil and gas, we will need alternatives. Until that time, we need oil and gas.
Sad but true. In the end we will find alternatives and it is important, but it is taking time.
An awesome video Thomas!
Thanks 🙏
Just use leather, wool or cotton for car interiors, oil is meant to be turned into gasoline which is then turned into horsepower.
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
Alcantara fabric not too resilient to Sun UV radiation....
What are you babbling on about with your environment!!
It was originally developed as an alternative to suede.
if you are worried about plastics just dont get a car
It was invented by Al Cantara. True story.
Not wanting to take anything away from what you said about plastic in car seats, but the thing about natural materials like actual real leather is that the animals for the leather aren't purely breed and used for the leather. These animals (and so the CO2 produced by them) ddo not just serve one purpose: Leather hides, foodproduction (dairy products, meat), and keeping meadows free form trees.
(The last one is the weakest argument, but each year there are events here in the alps where people are assembled by radio and newspapers to "keep alpine meadows free from trees" as due to less and less kettle being lept up there, more and more of the open areas grow full with bushes and trees.
I personally don't see the problem with having more trees, as it's benefitial for the climate, water and even helps against erosion way better than flowers and different kinds of grass. But biologists are in heated argumentation that this would mean fewer kinds of insects and plants in the area.)
Thank you very much for your interest in this topic. I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ruclips.net/video/S1aNZeoatmE/видео.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ruclips.net/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/видео.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ruclips.net/video/6vXePQi_MAk/видео.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ruclips.net/video/u94YXJ72UTA/видео.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ruclips.net/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/видео.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ruclips.net/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/видео.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ruclips.net/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/видео.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse?
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
@@autogefuehl While i agree to almost all of the first part of your answer, the end becomes really wacky and conspiracy theory like.
At the end, you sound like the people that are so far removed from their food, that they have no clue where it comes from.
I learned from a young age on, that we don't kill animals just for one small thing like furr, antlers... IF an animal is killed, everything gets used. Nothing is to be wasted.
And no, not every leather product has a layer of plastic on top.
And with such leather you don't get microplastic into the envirement, and need less oil. As much as i prefer microfibre and cloth carseats over leather seats myself, every time we get in and out of the car, that rubbing over the seatm means to remove tiny particles of plastic that the world currently is so anxious about. Called microplastic.
It's nasty
Alcantara is also a very nice material for watch straps 🤩