One thing I agonised over when buying my Kona was to try to avoid leather to align my purchase with my vegan ethics. Remember the ethical definition of veganism is to "minimise the harm to animals." I judged that there was no other car that matched our requirements. Note that at time of purchase the EV market does not have any where near the wide choice that fossil fuel car owners have. Also note that by the time we come to the end of 2020 I think the choice will be much, much wider.
And so down the Hyundai and the Kona. Because of mileage requirements we deemed we needed the range that the Premium SE model gave. But it wasn't just the range. I have a weak right elbow because of arthritis, so having electric controls on seat height etc is invaluable. However with that model came so called leather seats. There is no trim choice that provides non-leather and thus my quandry.
Now I think leather in cars is not simply straight leather. Much of it is mixed if not entirely replaced by faux leather. Without being an expert I could not do better than ask Mr Google. An article on leather Read the Fine Print: It's Not Leather | The Hog Ring from 2014 in Australia says a disclaimer for interior trim described by Hyundai as “leather seating with heated front seats” goes on to say “finishes specified as leather may contain elements of genuine leather, polyurethane leather (leather substitute) or man-made materials, or a combination thereof”.
Now this is clearly saying there at least may be and probably is some cow hide in the car's seats. But probably it is mixed with man-made leather, and indeed there may be substantial man-made equivalent. Or perhaps that's just my hope!
Okay let's focus on it from a company's sales/marketing perspective. Traditionally they have sold cars with leather trim to justify a better quality car with a premium trim. But times are a-changing. Now with the rise of veganism some manufacturers are moving over to faux-leather for a variety of reasons including production costs, durability, suitability and so forth. Frankly the days of leather being the better product are over. But manufacturers still cling on to selling cars with leather to justify a premium pricetag.
Some manufacturers have moved over. Tesla are leaders here but other premium brands are not far behind.
Whatever I have bought I have done the best I can. And whatever I would have bought it would not have been entirely vegan. So whichever car I went for it was going to be a trade-off.
So I feel guilty and that feeling will always remain.
My guess is that come a year or so and most manufacturers will be ditching real leather like crazy because it will be percieved slowing car sales down.
And so down the Hyundai and the Kona. Because of mileage requirements we deemed we needed the range that the Premium SE model gave. But it wasn't just the range. I have a weak right elbow because of arthritis, so having electric controls on seat height etc is invaluable. However with that model came so called leather seats. There is no trim choice that provides non-leather and thus my quandry.
Now I think leather in cars is not simply straight leather. Much of it is mixed if not entirely replaced by faux leather. Without being an expert I could not do better than ask Mr Google. An article on leather Read the Fine Print: It's Not Leather | The Hog Ring from 2014 in Australia says a disclaimer for interior trim described by Hyundai as “leather seating with heated front seats” goes on to say “finishes specified as leather may contain elements of genuine leather, polyurethane leather (leather substitute) or man-made materials, or a combination thereof”.
Now this is clearly saying there at least may be and probably is some cow hide in the car's seats. But probably it is mixed with man-made leather, and indeed there may be substantial man-made equivalent. Or perhaps that's just my hope!
Okay let's focus on it from a company's sales/marketing perspective. Traditionally they have sold cars with leather trim to justify a better quality car with a premium trim. But times are a-changing. Now with the rise of veganism some manufacturers are moving over to faux-leather for a variety of reasons including production costs, durability, suitability and so forth. Frankly the days of leather being the better product are over. But manufacturers still cling on to selling cars with leather to justify a premium pricetag.
Some manufacturers have moved over. Tesla are leaders here but other premium brands are not far behind.
Whatever I have bought I have done the best I can. And whatever I would have bought it would not have been entirely vegan. So whichever car I went for it was going to be a trade-off.
So I feel guilty and that feeling will always remain.
My guess is that come a year or so and most manufacturers will be ditching real leather like crazy because it will be percieved slowing car sales down.
