Feb 2, 2026 · 22 min · 10 segments
Did you know the world's oldest leather shoe is a right-footed size 7? In this episode, we talk all things leather. From the science of tanning (using everything from tree bark to animal brains) to…
Sonia, want to kick us
off? So leather is a material made from animal skin or hide, and humans have been making it for over 70,000 years.
There's a lot of vocabulary associated with leather.
For example, an animal skin is called a hide if it's from a large animal, and a skin if it's from a smaller animal.
Leather can be made from all kinds of animal hides and skins, including cattle, sheep, horses, goats, buffalo, pigs, seals, walruses, whales, and alligators.
There's even a company that makes leather from fish skin.
Leather making is the process of turning hides and skins into leather through different methods of preservation.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, quote, leather making is the science of using acids, bases, salts, enzymes, and tannins to dissolve fats and non-fibrous proteins and strengthen the bonds between collagen fibers.
A large part of leathermaking is the process of tanning.
Tanning uses tanning agents, or tannins, which can include a variety of materials, such as extracts from tree bark or oil or fat from the animal itself, or mineral salts.
During the process of tanning, the water in a hide or skin is replaced with tannic acid, which helps to bind proteins and collagens in skin.
These proteins and collagens are fibrous molecules that give leather its strength and suppleness.
We first mentioned animal skin used in garments in episode 19, Historical Low and No Waste Garments.
Skin garments can also include garments made from animal hides that have fur on them or early forms of leather.
The earliest leathers were made by drying animal hides or skins in the sun.
Humans also used animal fats and brains as tanning agents.
They might also have salted or smoked the skins to help preserve them.
Humans also used extracts from plants as tanning agents, and this process is called vegetable tanning.
Humans have been doing vegetable tanning as early as 5,000 years ago, and we'll talk more about that later.
First, we'll share more about the process of modern leather making.
So first, the animal hide is cured.
This is done through air drying, wet or dry salting, or pickling.
Next, the cured hides are shipped to a tannery, and there the hides are soaked.
This is when hair and other water-soluble materials are removed.
This process is often done through liming, which is soaking the hide in a mixture of water and lime.
Sonia, want to kick us
off? So leather is a material made from animal skin or hide, and humans have been making it for over 70,000 years.
There's a lot of vocabulary associated with leather.
For example, an animal skin is called a hide if it's from a large animal, and a skin if it's from a smaller animal.
Leather can be made from all kinds of animal hides and skins, including cattle, sheep, horses, goats, buffalo, pigs, seals, walruses, whales, and alligators.
There's even a company that makes leather from fish skin.
Leather making is the process of turning hides and skins into leather through different methods of preservation.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, quote, leather making is the science of using acids, bases, salts, enzymes, and tannins to dissolve fats and non-fibrous proteins and strengthen the bonds between collagen fibers.
A large part of leathermaking is the process of tanning.
Tanning uses tanning agents, or tannins, which can include a variety of materials, such as extracts from tree bark or oil or fat from the animal itself, or mineral salts.
During the process of tanning, the water in a hide or skin is replaced with tannic acid, which helps to bind proteins and collagens in skin.
These proteins and collagens are fibrous molecules that give leather its strength and suppleness.
We first mentioned animal skin used in garments in episode 19, Historical Low and No Waste Garments.
Skin garments can also include garments made from animal hides that have fur on them or early forms of leather.
The earliest leathers were made by drying animal hides or skins in the sun.
Humans also used animal fats and brains as tanning agents.
They might also have salted or smoked the skins to help preserve them.
Humans also used extracts from plants as tanning agents, and this process is called vegetable tanning.
Humans have been doing vegetable tanning as early as 5,000 years ago, and we'll talk more about that later.
First, we'll share more about the process of modern leather making.
So first, the animal hide is cured.
This is done through air drying, wet or dry salting, or pickling.
Next, the cured hides are shipped to a tannery, and there the hides are soaked.
This is when hair and other water-soluble materials are removed.
This process is often done through liming, which is soaking the hide in a mixture of water and lime.
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