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ATP Atelier, Stockholm. How long does vegetable tanned leather take to degrade?

The brand’s tanneries reclaim hides from the food industry, making the leather a bi-product that will decompose without the need of chemicals

For Maj-la Pizzelli, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Scandinavian-designed and Italian-crafted leather goods brand, ATP Atelier, a sustainable stance is taken by implementing it in all aspects of the production. «Sustainability has been our why, or reason to be since day one. When founding ATP Atelier, I had no interest in putting yet another brand on the market just because. Following working at Swedish brand, Filippa K for so many years, initiating their work with sustainability, I realized there wasn’t any high quality leather goods from that same standpoint. Our mission then became to challenge the concept of luxury – to make it smart».

«I think something that is holding the industry back right now is the lack of courage to say ‘we are not perfect,’ because as of now, none of us are. If you don’t dare to start with minor things, in fear of recognizing your imperfections and faults, you won’t get anywhere when it comes to sustainability. I say start small. Of course, that’s way better than doing nothing and it will encourage others to follow. It’s not true that you need to be a big player with an infinity of resources to make an impact».

Smart Luxury: a brand based on consciousness and sustainability

Smart Luxury is defined by the brand as a lifestyle – one based on consciousness and sustainability in the aspects of ecology and society. A concept translated through the marketing messages promoted by the brand. A call to give oneself permission, instead of following the broadest path, to rather invest time, energy and money on the experiential aspects of life that last – both for the sake of oneself and that of the world we live in.

For ATP Atelier, the brand has always manifested itself from the combination of heritage and modernity, luxury and sustainability. For it is contradiction that something can be born that does not already exist. «The combination of traditional Italian craftsmanship and modern Scandi design was one of the starting points when founding the brand and is something we will never compromise on. The Italian heritage ensures quality and breathes respect, while our Scandinavian aesthetic speaks to the future of the brand».

In speaking to the marriage between luxury and sustainability, the backbone of every collection is comprised of vegetable tanned vachetta leather. «The first shoe we ever made was in vegetable tanned leather – a material, as opposed to traditional leather, that is not treated with any harmful chemicals, is biodegradable and can be easily discarded at the end of its lifetime,» Pizzelli explains. Today, only 10% of all leather produced worldwide is vegetable tanned.

ATP Atelier’s materials around biodegradability

How long does vegetable tanned leather take to decompose? The length of the process can vary. What is known, is that the leather is biodegradable and when it does reach the end of its natural life and it degrades, it does so without putting out any harmful chemicals, such as azo-dyes, nickel, PCP or chrome VI – chemicals found in tanned leather – into the ecosystem.

«We’re always eager to continue to learn and test ideas, of which, our metal-free nappa is a great example. The nappa leather is born through a patent-pending process, based on decomposing organic chemicals. The tanning process is not polluting and has very limited impact on the environment – ninety eight percent of the water used is recycled», Pizzelli divulges.

Today, with sustainability, also comes a fluidity in compromise. ATP Atelier’s suede and printed leathers are not treated with natural tannins for example, simply because the brand has not yet developed an efficient way of doing so. They are however, still treated in a way that has a more minimal impact on the environment, by employing factories that use closed-loop water systems – meaning that both the synthetics and the water used in the tanning process is recycled and reused.

The notion of product lifespan according to ATP Atelier

In pursuit of the process, Pizzelli explains that the tanneries the brand employs reclaim hides from the food industry, making the leather a bi-product, avoiding waste to a large degree. «Leather as a material is characterized by durability, more so than current vegan alternatives, meaning it has a longer lifespan. Nevertheless, most vegan options are oil-based, often made from plastic or other materials that just simply cannot justify themselves as being more sustainable. From our point of view, leather is the more conscious offering». In future-proofing, «Going forward, we’ll see how things develop. Waste from the meat industry might be reduced due to our diminishing consumption and new technology will probably enable the production and innovation of contemporary sustainable materials».

Society begs the question: how circularly-integrated can sustainability be from the perspective of lifestyle and longevity? What defines sustainability from such a stance? For ATP Atelier, sustainability is not defined by the materials used and incorporates the notion of product lifespan into the equation. «We work with many of the same shapes and silhouettes, updating slightly from season to season, rather than following short term trends. We want our pieces to feel relevant for many years». ATP Atelier also educates the client on a conscious level from purchasing behavior to caring for their pieces to allow for a graceful aging process.

The relationship with suppliers and artisans

«In addition, we have a very close and long standing relationship with our suppliers. It is priority to protect the Italian artisanal tradition of handmade leather goods, that has been innate for generations. We work with what Italians call laboratori- small factories with up to twenty employees- based in Tuscany. This is not only socially sustainable, but also allows us to have very short lead times and no minimum quantities. In turn, this means we never have to produce more than we actually know for sure we will need and as a result do not promote mass production through our production process. As our suppliers are located in Italy, we only work with hides from within the European Union, where there is high traceability and transparency of raw materials» Pizzelli adds.

For ATP Atelier, the approach has remained ‘materials first, design second’. Vegetable tanned vachetta does not possess the softness of its chrome-treated alternatives, and this of course affects the creative process. The leather may not hug a form, or shape as the designer dreamed, but the brand finds beauty in the compromise out of respect of the raw material and the planet.

Respect and sustainability as key values for the brand

«Sustainability is a key element when building our actual ATP Atelier team. I’ve always built teams on the basis of people’s varying personalities. If you’re a diverse group, with a spectrum of perspectives, you’ll be strong in the [longevity race]. It also aids to have a more holistic understanding of one’s, customer base. Diversity in this instance is not just geographical, but based on culture, age and other factors. If one cultivates a team representative of this, one can in turn, handle adversity way better than any homogeneous group». Pizzelli grounds her opinions on diversity in the living truth of her brand. It is with this encouragement of individuality, that charged the arousal behind the brand’s Spring Summer 2020 collection, Fueled by Differences.

«Unlike common practices, our brand has defined its core mission to keep on pushing personal and industry standards in an effort to align with our end goal- creating beautiful, long lasting pieces that are crafted with the intention to respect the planet and its people». A collection where the dualities of heritage and modernism, minimalism and spiritedness can lay in harmony.

Looking at the future: openness to alternatives

The brand focuses on the advantages of naturally treated leathers from an aesthetic point of view, revealing the colors and textures that exist naturally due to the material, in an honest form of beauty. The handmade collection pieces cease to be identical, now or ever and are crafted with the intention to be individual and celebrated for their differences.

In today’s climate, it’s more than evident that society is conflicted in a period of appreciating the beauty of the world, while battling the challenges of a pretty harsh reality. The process of questioning our own and our industry’s policies and practices is ongoing. In the midst of the daunter, where does the progression lie?

Pizzelli remains open minded and curious for alternatives in all aspects of the industry. «ATP Atelier doesn’t do enough [on the sustainability front], but we’re continuously eager to learn, challenge ourselves and be more transparent, not only from a production and traceability point of view, but also from a more socially sustainable stance. It’s always better to live by example rather than just talking a big game, right? We have great ambitions when it comes to measuring and reporting on the work we do. We want to be able to disclose our CO2 emissions and our overall impact on the environment to include our community in the journey of sustainability», Pizzelli finishes up with a breath of optimism for an industry with a changing air.

ATP Atelier

Skånegatan 86
Stockholm

Jennifer Paccione

ATP Atelier, Stockholm

The writer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article.

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