Sheepskin, once a valued by-product of the sheep industry, has become a part of the waste associated with animal agriculture. It costs money for local butchers to throw those skins away. There is no market for sheepskin today according to the American Sheep Industry (ASI). China was the largest buyer of American sheepskin but that market was hit with crippling tariffs. About 98% of the leather and animal skin products sold in the U.S. are made in other countries; countries like China, Pakistan, and India that don’t have robust environmental protections let alone workers’ rights laws. The legacy of that work, and the traces of those chemicals, remain in the finished leather products that are sold in this country. Driftless Tannery is working to bring the value back to sheepskin in a clean, environmentally friendly way. The Tannery is dedicated to helping farmers to be more profitable by providing a service that creates value added sheepskin for shepherds across the country.
Leather and hair on animal skin were the first textiles ever used by humans. People have relied on these fabrics for thousands of years to protect them from the elements. Leather is used to create shelter, clothing, containers, strapping and so much more. The natural fibers in sheepskin are hypoallergenic and stain resistant, and they are known for their cushioning ability. That is why sheepskin is often used to cushion medical equipment. Sheepskin are also thermoregulating making them great for lining clothes and shoes. Sheepskin adds warmth and hygge around the home as a throw or as a rug.
The complex fiber structure in wool cannot be replicated outside of nature. Faux fur is made from synthetic materials including polyester (petroleum based) and acrylic fibers. These may be made to look similar but they lack all of the aforementioned benefits of natural fibers. Faux fur fibers, also known as microplastics, shed into our environment and end up in our soils and eventually in our waterways. Any fibers that shed from a naturally tanned sheepskin will biodegrade as they are made from macro and micronutrients found in nature. Likewise, since faux leather is synthetically made it does not biodegrade like real leather.
When humans began to preserve leather and animal skin, they used what they had available. They used brains, alum, and the tannins extracted from trees and other vegetation. These older methods (now modernized) are still the preferred methods for tanneries like Driftless. These methods take longer and involve more labor than the chemical alternatives. That is why a naturally tanned sheepskin costs more than the sheepskin you find in a big box store. Those mass-produced, bleached white sheepskin are either made of faux fur or came from the world’s biggest exporter of real sheepskin, China, where workers don’t have rights and there is much less regard for the environment.
The sheepskin created and sold by Driftless Tannery comes from the waste stream of our local animal agriculture. Beyond that, the Tannery offers tanning services to farmers across the country. Farmers simply send in their dry cured, raw hides to the Tannery and they are returned to those farmers for their personal use or to sell. Please consider buying local, naturally tanned sheepskin whenever they are available as a way of supporting small farmers and keeping this precious resource out of the waste stream.
Driftless Tannery was founded in 2020. It is owned and operated by South Central Wisconsin Farmers Union members, Danielle Dockery and Bethany Storm. Located in Argyle, Wisconsin, Driftless Tannery offers a clean alternative to hide tanning for sheep and goat farmers across the United States, bringing them beautiful, healthy, quality value-added items to their operations, while removing gorgeous hides from the waste stream associated with animal agriculture. You can learn more about the Tannery through their website www.driftlesstannery.com or follow them on Facebook and Instagram @driftlesstannery.
— Bethany Emond is a member of the South Central Wisconsin Farmers Union, a member-driven chapter committed to enhancing the quality of life for family farmers, rural communities, and all people through educational opportunities, cooperative endeavors, and civic engagement in Rock, Green, and Lafayette Counties.
