Also! Not all leather is made equal!
(This is mainly about shoes as that’s what I know about. It probably applies to other leather stuff as well, but I don't know if/when it would be different.)
Leather isn't a monolith. It's usually from cows, and there's a lot of variation within that.
There are all different kinds of leather, depending on the cow’s age. You can get adult cow leather, or calf leather (from calves of all different ages) and even sometimes leather from fetuses. (That’s rare for shoes because it’s so thin. It’s called slunk leather, and as far as I could find, is usually sourced from cows that are found to be pregnant upon slaughter) Different kinds of leather have different traits. For example, calf leather has a less pronounced grain, which is generally more sought after.
From there, there are the different grades of leather. This is the part of the hide that is used. Here's a little chart before I explain it:
Full grain has the top of the hide intact, nothing is sanded off. This makes it a lot more durable and thicker, but more expensive. Cows have stretch marks and imperfections on their skin, just like humans do. These would show on full grain leather and are usually seen as undesirable, so only certain parts of a hide can be used.
The next level down is top grain. The top layer of the leather is sanded or shaved off, smoothing any imperfections. Because of this, it's a bit thinner than full grain. It’s also less expensive, because manufacturers don’t have to be as selective in picking hides.
Then comes genuine leather, which is a tricky term. It can refer to any and all real leather (AKA not pleather), or can refer to the bottom layer of the hide. This is lower quality than the other two grades.
Finally is bonded leather. This stuff is crap. Have you ever had a belt that looked kind of like leather but fell apart pretty nastily? That was probably bonded leather or just straight up plastic. Basically, bonded leather is a bunch of leather scraps mixed with a lot of glue. It doesn’t last long.
What does all of this mean? You're the one who decides that. You can totally continue to be fully against using leather, because it is, by nature, an animal byproduct.
But, I see it as a chance for ethical consumption and as an opportunity to make informed decisions. When you know what all of this means, you can look past the good-bad binary and decide what it means for you. And if you decide that you do like leather, you can choose leather that is high quality and longlasting, if you know what all of the words mean.
The marvellous thing about leather is that if you take care of it properly, it can last a lifetime. Literally. Leather shoes breathe, and stay functional so much longer than plastic shoes ever would. Sure, you have to condition and polish them every once in a while, but that's usually easier than buying a whole new pair of shoes.
There’s also the fact that a lot of leather comes from the meat industry. In many cases, it’s something that would otherwise be wasted, and for a material that is so durable, that’s kind of sad. You could probably find a company that sources leather from a place that claims to treat its animals well (be it true or not), or from a place that uses imperfect leather (y’know how I mentioned full grain leather shows stretch marks and stuff?) that would otherwise be unwanted and wasted. In my opinion, smaller businesses who try to use leather ethically are a heck of a lot better than the sweatshops that many pleather items are mass produced in.
Leather isn’t perfect by any means, but things very rarely are.
