https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/americas-obsession-with-beef-is-killing-leather/ar-AAFzqyL?li=BBnbfcN
U.S. consumers are eating more beef, more than they have in a decade. But a byproduct of this carnivorous hankering is piling up, unloved and unwanted. Shoppers who once coveted leather jackets and shoes are instead scooping up cheaper, synthetic alternatives, reflecting a growing ambivalence toward this former staple of American closets.
The glut of cowhides has caused prices to plummet, rendering many worthless. And just as the American love for meat has caught on around the globe, so too has the abandonment of leather, from clothing to car seats. Hides are even starting to go to landfills while the smaller leather processors are going out of business.
Just five years ago, prices soared after a drought shrank the U.S. herd to a six-decade low. Leather outpriced itself, forcing shoe and clothing designers to cut the material from their products. Combine that with the rise of athleisure and the growing popularity of "vegan" clothing, and one can see why demand hasn't come back.
Cattle hides, an obligatory byproduct of beef and dairy consumption, will be around as long as Americans like cheeseburgers, steaks and ice cream. And while dairy producers have been under pressure from declining milk demand and dairy alternatives, the rise of meat substitutes has yet to dent America's taste for the real thing.
U.S. consumers are eating more beef, more than they have in a decade. But a byproduct of this carnivorous hankering is piling up, unloved and unwanted. Shoppers who once coveted leather jackets and shoes are instead scooping up cheaper, synthetic alternatives, reflecting a growing ambivalence toward this former staple of American closets.
The glut of cowhides has caused prices to plummet, rendering many worthless. And just as the American love for meat has caught on around the globe, so too has the abandonment of leather, from clothing to car seats. Hides are even starting to go to landfills while the smaller leather processors are going out of business.
Just five years ago, prices soared after a drought shrank the U.S. herd to a six-decade low. Leather outpriced itself, forcing shoe and clothing designers to cut the material from their products. Combine that with the rise of athleisure and the growing popularity of "vegan" clothing, and one can see why demand hasn't come back.
Cattle hides, an obligatory byproduct of beef and dairy consumption, will be around as long as Americans like cheeseburgers, steaks and ice cream. And while dairy producers have been under pressure from declining milk demand and dairy alternatives, the rise of meat substitutes has yet to dent America's taste for the real thing.
