Real leather animal skin vs faux leather leatherette & alcantara/dinamica microfiber - Autogefühl
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- Опубліковано 28 лип 2024
- Follow up episode with more information: • My message to car CEOs...
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This is our follow-up episode on this topic with more information: ua-cam.com/video/LNSUzZXzpdc/v-deo.html
YES Thomas! I'm ordering my 120i m sport, textile seats for the win!
Don't care for your personal opinion about killing animals for leather. Just to came to learn why materials are superior over the other based on your title. Wasnt looking for a lecture. I got turned off half way thru the video by all the comments about killing animals and how its aquired. Dont care. Ill worry about ethical things on my own time thank you very much.
@@TexanWolverine I don't care you don't care. Autogefuhl can choose to make the content how he chooses to, thank you very much.
@@ahmedkhan1962 just letting him know why his video is shit. take it or leave it.
I’m with you brother. I am also an animal lover.
Thanks Josh, that really means a lot, to me, but even more for our fellow beings!
Also please check out this great documentary: cowspiracy.vhx.tv/packages/cowspiracy-the-sustainability-secret-1/videos/cowspiracy-the-sustainability-secret
I highly recommend this ^ and the Earthlings documentary.
I appreciate someone adding more to a car review than what's under the hood. I recently got a rental and thought it was leather and found out it wasnt. It felt great, smelled good and I would have been none the wiser. So now I have no problem with a synthetic seat. I think we are just recently turning the corner on this and in the future I expect these new fibers will fully replace leather as people learn from the practical position that its cheaper and better.
Regardless if someone agrees or disagrees, I have to give respect to him for sharing his views!
It's a strange world, because I still do eat meat (I'm American, we don't have much else, lol), but I do agree with most of what you said. Keep it up, Autogefühl! A bit of personal interjection is NOT a bad thing!
+Godly Object thanks for your recognition!
+Xplosion51 yes, animals are much better than humans.
+indash.eu you got a point there :)
+Xplosion51 Wait, what? I didn't make that comparison...
+Xplosion51 twisted logic? A life is a life, what an uninformed comment
I’m glad you offered this personal aside and commentary, Thomas...it’s made me think carefully about my next car (Audi) purchase, and how all such decisions are important in the marketplace...and beyond. Sometimes habits and customs are things we cling to without thought or reconsideration. You’ve respectfully asked me to reflect, and I will. This is the essence of what we owe one another even though we may never meet - you’ve engaged my mind! Bravo, and thank you! Greg
Greg, thats really amazing. Sometimes the workload is really hard on me, but when I read that people really do care, thats really fantastic
Thank you for this great video! I'm fully agree with you. The real leather seats are non-sense for luxury as well as they are very uncomfortable at summer & winter.
+Leskylor appreciating your support
I'm 100% with you Thomas on this matter! Great job! People should love the animals and play with them, not wear or sit on them (Leather sits).
+Goran Stepanovic way to go!
I agree with animal rights but in this case no coz we can still use the leather without killing them and simply wait for them to die😉
@@nadjibe Car companies will never do that because they don't like the 'quality' of old animal skins.
your points were very well stated, without being argumentative.
I prefer Alcantara over leather, its kind of gross to sit on dead animal skin. Thank you Thomas for bringing this subject to light. If the auto manufacturers know we want alternative interior options we will eventually get them!
thanks so much chad, glad you care!
Outstanding presentation. Thank you for helping to educate the public on how the animals are tortured and maned in the name of human comfort. The public in all cultures needs to know! Thank you! Judy in Virginia Beach
I've always felt the same way and stopped buying genuine leather goods years ago. I also find synthetic or faux leather to be much more durable. Thank you for taking the time to make this video!
+Peter Torres thanks Peter and appreciate that you see it this way as well!
Keep up the good work. Informing how consumers can make small choices for compassion that can make a big difference is noble work. A conversation like this made me choose cloth for my latest car... I think the more the public is informed - the more change we will see.
Thank you Shawn! Please spread the Message to your surrounding :)
Hey bro, this is the first video of yours I've seen. I'm vegan, I have been for a little over a year, but I just graduated from college and got to buy my first car with some help from my parents about 3 weeks ago. I got a VW Jetta with the V-Tex instead of leather. My old car that I got almost 8 years ago had leather seats that were just like you described, uncomfortable and very hard to maintain... I knew some of the points about leather being bad for workers and the environment but I actually thought it was like a byproduct of meat, too. You are right! From a pragmatic view, leather is not really a luxury item, even simple cloth is better in many respects, and I think we are slowly updating our definition of luxury to understand that. It's really cool that you take this kind of stuff into consideration, thank you! Take care.
+lalem91 great to hear that thanks !
In Malaysia, very few car manufacturers state if its real animal or synthetic. When you ask their sales, they have no clue
yeah often they have no clue !
This is one of the best videos in your channel.
+mrtherm thanks! keep spreading the word and of course our videos :)
Thanks for speaking out for the animals. This makes a big difference. I bought a Mercedes e400 wagon because of your review and because the seats are not leather!
love to hear that, great Michael that you take the right decisions as a customer!
Hey brother.
Today time has changed. You can see major changes in car industry. Genuine leather, nappa, merino is extremely rare. Alcantara, SensaTec and leatherette are dominating the market.
I am from India. I don't consume meat, not eggs since my birth. I have stopped consuming milk but occasionally consume milk products. I do have black coffee. Your video is extremely insightful. We are surrounded by products that are painted by blood of animals.
In india we have cars made by tata, mahindra, hyundai. All of those never ever gave an option of real animal leather. They have gone up to leatherette and stopped there.
Your efforts are bearing fruits.
thanks so much my friend ! If you want to know even more about this topic:
I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ua-cam.com/video/S1aNZeoatmE/v-deo.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ua-cam.com/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/v-deo.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ua-cam.com/video/6vXePQi_MAk/v-deo.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ua-cam.com/video/u94YXJ72UTA/v-deo.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ua-cam.com/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/v-deo.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ua-cam.com/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/v-deo.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ua-cam.com/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/v-deo.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
Also a group of researchers and German journalists from public media could recent directly trace the connection between car animal leather production and illegal burning down Amazon rain forest:
www.daserste.de/information/reportage-dokumentation/ard-story/videos/illegales-leder-video-100.html
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse? Remember that animal skin leather is no different to fur, fur is just leather where the hair is still on. And fur is widely not accepted for clothing anymore, and of course not for cars.
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
For a great insight into sustainability in the automotive industry, you can also check out our extensive documentary:
ua-cam.com/video/-8gNXlRGngA/v-deo.html
Thomas, this is really nice that you let it out and expose what really happens behind the scenes in that industry and explain thoroughly why you are against it. Regardless if people agree with you or not, this video will serve as a good discussion to people's different perspective about the issue. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us!
+Ivan Delos Santos really appreciate your feedback
Yes i´m definitely mor against leather now, thx for opening my eyes but what do you think about leather steringweal ? the same opinion there as well ? And also it would be nice if you could do a video about alcantara and false letter, how it feels and how its made for exampel, i think it could be very interesting to watch. keep up the grate work
+Hundra14Kronor Thanks buddy. Yeah indeed, if I had the chance, I would always go for alcantara steering wheel which we have seen in some racing cars - it really rocks in grip and feeling. Seen for example in the F-TYPE R !
I was never a friend of leather seats caused by the really bad user comfort. As you said in summer you are sweat and glue at the seat. In winter it is too cold and you are slick and slide. But the Main item in parallel to the Animal handling is the chemical contamination with Chrome VI !!! But this is a big problem for all leather products like shoes, jackets and for sure watch straps. The car industry has NOT the overview of all sub sub suppliers. They don't know where the leather come from and if it was in contact with the poison chrome 6!!! Thus I fully agree with you to decline leather in cars. But for other leather products please ask the salesman for much more Details to protect your life and the of the animals. Cheers DrDuu
+DrDuu So right they do not follow the supply chain!
Aw, I like this video. I have always felt a similar way, and wondered why leather was such a popular material.
how to know what youre really buying ? for example i what a luxury pickup truck but they only offer me leather. How do i know if it real or not
You really have to check the configurator, the price list, ask the dealer, ask the manufacturer. Often it is not easy to find out since "leather" is also not a protected term. This one is also a good guide: moneywisedriver.com/do-vegan-cars-exist-a-guide-to-non-leather-interiors/
I love that you use your channel to educate people to become better humans!
+YM M As automotive journalism is surely not the most noble thing to do on earth, I feel like I can do something good if I spread those information here indeed. If just one life was spared, all worth the effort
It’s a shame that this video is five years old and yet when I go to spec a 2021 BMW X5 I can’t get certain features without forcing me to choose leather. For example, why can I not get the multi-contour seats in Sensatec? And why does Sensatec only come in two color options for this vehicle?
Thomas , well said ! Its your Channel so you can say what ever you want . You have to start somewhere , for choosing interior options .if enough people start to choose non-Leather all the Manufactures will give more options .
Thanks
Joe
+TechExplorer thanks Joe for the support!
+Autogefühl You need more Subscribers I mean what a quality you get from this kinda channel. You should have like 400,000 subscribers. Greatings from Sweden😀
+Love Richardson thanks man =)
+Autogefühl No problem man appreciate it and also thanks for reply 👍
I agree completely and loved the video. I appreciate you sharing your enlightened perspective.
I am amazed by how much better faux leather is. I have a Subaru with full leather (all Subaru's leather = faux since 1998).
Material science is amazing.
+eksster Great to have your support on this
I learn a lot from this small video . I don’t want 100% leather products anymore, we love our animals and environment thanks for your kind effort
Thanks for caring!!
I wish everyone went to faux leather, always cruelty-free and doesn't look like crap after 5 years.
+ThatKiDwiththeDrums only problem is, it is often laden with chemicals and release VOCs like crazy
+Torrey B Actually if you look at the big picture, in faux leather A LOT less chemicals are used. That's why allergy proof interiors are _never_ with real animal skin. The reason is that leather is not a natural product because it is chemically process very strongly.
+Xplosion51 Dont turn it into a steak in the first place :)
+Xplosion51 Well, in my country beef is not very sought after type of meat, so its skin as a byproduct is not being wasted since we dont even slaughter cattle for meat. I take dairy products over beef any/every day!
***** No I am not joking. We do eat some beef dishes but that is nowhere near to the levels that I saw in Argentina, for examples. We make burgers from pork or pork/lamb combo, google "pljeskavica" or "ćevapi". I'm from Serbia btw. However its not only on Balkans but most of Europe doesn't consume much beef, unlike Americas (all of them: North, Central and South).
Sorry , someone can help me , im not eating animal and not use any animal skin in my dress , but , if I buy audi s5 , seat maked by leather , its real leather or what material ? Someone help me , Im so confuse
You have to look at every single individual vehicle to find out. If you watch videos on our channel, we always give information to seating surfaces!
Thank you, Thomas, for this episode. I have one time bought a car with real leather interior but have since then only had faux leather interior. My current car is a 2016 GLC 300 4Matic and after taking delivery I had questioned myself if I should have gotten the real leather interior. I am now very happy I did not and will not again get real leather in a car. I had been thinking about it back and forth until seeing you bring this topic up in some of your reviews and then especially in this episode. Thank you again.
+Stephen Arnold Great to hear!
Totally agree with you. I had the same thoughts when I bought my new car. Hadn't even seen your videos yet. What are your views on poultry and seafood?
Great to have more people that care! I've been vegetarian for 15 years, vegan for about three/four years now. Best thing you can do to yourself, your fellow animals and the planet. Cant solve every problems at once, but this is the easiest thing you can do to have maximum impact
@@autogefuehl being vegatrian? Its not about being vegan or not. The subject here is meant that they need to stop killing animals for useless things. We dont need to stop eating meat so they kill less animals. Nothing will change if u stop eat meat or not. We are humans and we need meat, its very important for our budies.
Nice video agree with it. I've chosen alcantara for my new car instead of leather no sweat during summer and don't need seat warming + saved a few animals
great !!
No you didn’t, you just used more oil!
I ended up here because I'm thinking about selling my leather sofa. But I don't want to buy artificial leather that will crack and not age well. Is faux leather a good alternative? Microfiber sounds good too.
It depends on the quality grade. There is great leatherette and there is poor leatherette, gotta check the quality. Microfibre is also great, as for sofa, I recommend some grey scandinavian style fabric!
you're awesome, cool little video!
Very thoughtful of you. Thank you very much, Thomas! The times are changing and we all have to make choices.
+deanarel thanks for the support!
This is really great..your presentation has inspired me to learn more about leather and how it affects animals. Thanks for standing up and sharing your passion about this topic Thomas!
+Steven Sanchez so great to hear that!
My deepest respect for you, Thomas. Thank you.
+Till Samenström tak Till !
Hi should I go for the bmw Dakota leather or sensatec? $1450 extra for Dakota? Is sensatec just as comfortable seating surface? Good video!
Hey, stick with Sensatec because you will not give your money to an industry that earns money with killing. Also, you can wipe it clean as easily as Dakota. The Sensatec meanwhile has a very good quality standard.
The video we've all been waiting for. Cloth person myself, haven't had microfiber
+Jared Berg thanks jared!
Very good video Thomas! Love your reviews, and your thinking!
+Sam McDonnell thanks for caring!
As always, a very comprehensive explanation. Well done Thomas.
Thank you so much for this video. I dunno why I found it so hard after I searched on google on differences between them. Btw you don't look very changed compared to how you were 8 years ago. Keep up the good work!
Highly appreciated!!
If u re interested, here are more resources: I also bought cars with animal skin leather seats before I did my research and got to know the industry. The most important thing is: With today's modern materials, you have nothing to lose, just to gain. You achieve the same kind of luxury and comfort or even better while having the same or better durability with less impact on humans, animals and the environment.
You can use fabric/cloth, microfibre or leatherette. The classic approach is using oil/plastic as source material. Overall, a vehicle contains about 300 kg plastic. A car seat needs about 5 kg plastic. So the overall plastic share for the seats is very low and it is at this moment the most efficient way to produce a car seat. A couple of litres of fuel equals a car seat basically. So if you want to save oil/plastic, rather look at consumption for energy, fuel and heating and to other car parts than the seat. Note that animal skin leather also always contains a plastic coating for durability. However, long-term we should of course find raw oil alternatives. So going further, seats can be made from recyclables (e.g. from PET-bottles or old fishing nets) or even increased share of plant-based materials (like pine oil, canola oil or start-up materials like Pinatex from pineapple leaves or Desertex from cactus fibre or the mixed-plant-based Mirum, so be seen at ua-cam.com/video/S1aNZeoatmE/v-deo.html). On a calculation base, by ditching animal skin leather from car interiors, the amount of emissions (CO2e) is reduced by 85 (!) % (www.press.bmwgroup.com/africa-dom-easteurope/article/detail/T0403389EN/on-the-market-from-2023:-bmw-and-mini-models-with-vegan-interiors?language=en) - and that is a very conservative calculation. So it is at this moment the most important thing you can do to make car interiors more sustainable.
A good example for high-end luxury with ventilated animal free seats is the BMW X7 with Sensafin: ua-cam.com/video/1pRNkW9nrrw/v-deo.html
And the Kia EV9 with plant-based oil share: ua-cam.com/video/6vXePQi_MAk/v-deo.html
New leatherette materials can be superior in every aspect, even for cleaning: ua-cam.com/video/u94YXJ72UTA/v-deo.html
More and more natural materials are rising: ua-cam.com/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/v-deo.html
Also check out what the animal skin leather industry tried to with our channel: ua-cam.com/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/v-deo.html
For seeing how the animals are being treated and transported in the global leather industry, watch this footage: ua-cam.com/video/tkjCAmq1_8E/v-deo.html
Note that the footage is genuine and was recorded by a highly decorated investigative journalist in Germany I know myself personally.
Also a group of researchers and German journalists from public media could recent directly trace the connection between car animal leather production and illegal burning down Amazon rain forest:
www.daserste.de/information/reportage-dokumentation/ard-story/videos/illegales-leder-video-100.html
In a high animal skin grade, the animals are specifically raised for this matter. However even if meat is the "first" misuse case, the hide remains a profitable body part. That means: If manufacturers put animal leather in a car and you demand it as a customer, you give your money to an industry that earns money by oppressing humans, animals and harms the environment, you make them more profitable. Alternatively, you could support industries with your wallet which try to improve the sustainability of materials. Also, if you turn the argument around to "meat is the waste of the leather industry" you realize that it doesn't make sense (and is ethically doubtful) to discuss the primary use of individual body parts of mammals. Mind experiment: You are getting slain down on the street; would it matter to you if it was for your smartphone or for your purse? Remember that animal skin leather is no different to fur, fur is just leather where the hair is still on. And fur is widely not accepted for clothing anymore, and of course not for cars.
We cannot change what we have bought in the past, but with more information and compassion we can change how we decide in the future.
For a great insight into sustainability in the automotive industry, you can also check out our extensive documentary:
ua-cam.com/video/-8gNXlRGngA/v-deo.html
is there any substitution of leather used on the steering wheel?
Sometimes there is, yes. You can very well use microfibre as well
Great video! These days its possible to buy synthetic leather (no animals involved what so ever), which looks and feels very very similar to leather. So there should be no reason for an animal to die, just for a car seat.
thanks daniel! so true
And to use it skin as by Product .
Jesse, you're disgusting. Don't use your religion to justify the mistreatment of non-human animals. You're an awful speciescist. And you have to realize that we're animals too.
For me it depends on the feel. Leather can be soft, hard so it depends. Fake leather can look or feel like plastic. No good. So both can be right if they feel right.
Found this video in April, 2019. Thank you for creating this. I am shopping for a car, and I'm finding that as one wants more out in a car, one finds dead skin. Perhaps the majority of society wants that. Perhaps the majority of car manufacturers believes that. I don't need that.
Great that you also take interest in that!
This is also helpful: moneywisedriver.com/do-vegan-cars-exist-a-guide-to-non-leather-interiors/
But you haven't answered what are the best seats to buy(okay you don't recommend leather seats)?
We recommend the basic fabric seats since they are best in climate comfort summer n winter
Excellent video. I watch your reviews because they're really interesting, completes and pro. But you also seems to be a really nice and concerned person. I can only agree with you. Keep up the good work Thomas ! and thank you , great channel !
+Gildas Gautier thanks, spread the word for us!
What's the car
Agree with you completely Thomas. Thanks for sharing your insights.
love to hear that, spread the word !
Thank you, young man!!! You make perfect sense and have a good heart, too! xoxo
+Susan Estrella thank you Susan - great to hear that there are more thinking like that out there!
i just found your channel, this is great, good work!
+Trilok Ram thanks and spread the word for us!
+Trilok Ram thanks and spread the word for us!
I’m a 1st time buyer of a leather seats car. I was dicouraged by lot’s of my friends & family when found out that lot’s luxury cars are faux leather now days. However after this video I will no longer hesitate to buy a faux leather car:)Very educational and helpful video! Thank you!
Great!
Nice to see your separate video dedicated to this Thomas. I think whether your fans agree with you or not they should be accepting of your personal choice and be supportive. I know this subject is important to you. You laid out your position with passion using some convincing points of why not to buy your next car with real leather. Perhaps you changed the minds of a few of your viewers. At the very least you made them start to think about this more.
I'm taking sensatec Alcantara combo in the new 3-series. But the question is, how harmful are these materials for the nature? They are not natural, probably consisting of microplastic.
Interesting point. I never ordered leather in my cars because I thought of it as "luxury" but because I prefer the feeling how you sit on it. My last encounters with faux leather always have been bad, they did not breath well and you're starting to sweat immediately. Has that changed with newer products? A very good combination of the two worlds and better for animals is Alcantara. I drove the first Lexus IS 200 with Alcantara seats and still remember how well the seats were.
Nice video. I like that you make this kind of videos, because a channel about cars doesn't needs to be only reviews, there's a lot of things to say about this industry, some of them good, some of them bad ;-). A few points about what you say:
1- I agree that leather is not the best option for seats, and I wouldn't pick never, even if I had the means to buy luxury cars. For my taste, the combination of alcantara and faux leather is the best choice, both in terms of comfort and looks.
2- While I don't doubt that very horrible things happen in some countries, the argument that leather used in the cars we buy is produced on such conditions is a stretch. I don't know exactly from where it comes, but car makers could simply certificate that leather in their cars is a by-product and solve this point.
3- I don't mind your personal stand on being vegetarian or vegan, but just remember that is not unethical to eat meat. I think is perfectly coherent to eat meat but to be against unnecessary suffering of animals. That is, is ethical to kill animals for human consumption, but not more than what's strictly necessary. Still, I know we eat too much meat, and without becoming vegetarians, in general people should reduce his weekly meat consumption, for health reasons. So while I understand the you always make a comment against the use of real leather on cars on almost every review, because there are objective drawbacks, I would suggest to not try to push too much on other issues, because then you would be going off-topic and maybe make people get tired.
Hi Thomas, thanks for sharing your compassion with the world.
thanks for the support!
How about an update video on leather, Thomas? This video was posted in 2015 and I haven't found a newer one on your channel (let me know if I've missed something). In particular, I would appreciate an overview on using plant-based materials in car seats, e.g. Pinatex, etc. Also, what is your take on lab-grown leather? Would it be a sustainable and an ethical alternative to animal skin? Look forward to your comments/videos and glad to help if needed. Cheers, Govind
Thanks so much for your interest!
Did you see this one?
ua-cam.com/video/nP_CvLlaFlI/v-deo.html
And product wise, this is new and very interesting:
ua-cam.com/video/u94YXJ72UTA/v-deo.html
@@autogefuehl Yes, I have seen these, thanks for sharing. So far, the animal-free leather products in cars all seem to be petroleum-based (Leatherette, Alcantara, etc.), which is fine if they do not release toxic substances like dioxin (which is released by PVC). However, I am keen on seeing if plant-based materials can be incorporated in cars, such as Pinatex, Mylo, Kombucha, etc. These new materials seem to have a far lower environmental impact than even PE/PU/PVC materials, are mostly biodegradable, and can be very quick and cheap to scale up. Lab-grown leather is probably the best candidate to replace animal skin in cars as it looks and feels just like animal leather and therefore might easily convince those who associate animal skin with high class and quality (although there is no denying the durability of well-made animal leather, a good pair of animal leather boots can last 10-20 years if maintained well). The PE/PU/PVC alternatives are usually not as durable as animal leather, which discourages their use and increases waste production. Looking forward to more discussion from your team on this topic. Cheers, Govind
cheers!
Yes there are news on that:
ua-cam.com/video/nRSsXEnwHDo/v-deo.html
+Autogefühl Hi Thomas, I'm thinking about buying the new Megane 4 Bose Edition. I was going for the leather seats but your videos have brought this problem to my attention.
The Alcantara is not available for the non GT version, but I could go for something they call "Stoff-Textillederpolsterung Bose Edition". Do you have any words towards this alternative? It might not bring the alcantara level, but what is your opinion about it?
Thanks :)
Yep that option will do just fine! Thats cloth artificial leather mix
+Autogefühl Perfect, glad to hear that! Keep up the good work, you're changing the world, one person at a time :)
+Kiplaki It is the least we can do imho!
It is so nice to see such reviews..animals have no less right to live than human.
Thank u
thanks, keep supporting us!
A lot of top points there Thomas. So many great choices nowadays honestly besides real animal skin.
thanks for the support !
Thank you for that insightful information! I didn't know how cruel it was to obtain real leather.
(Y)
Fair and I agree but don't forget that leatherette and Alcantara are plastics which are pretty terrible for the environment on the short or long term. Only cotton, wool, other plant fibers/polymers and silk are natural and biodegradable.
the percentage of oil being used for fabric and alcantara seats is really absolutely minor. However I also agree that the best solution are plant-based seats how it is being evolved with Pinatex e.g.
Excellent video Thomas!! Educating consumers about leather is so important. Leather alternatives are no doubt the way forward. I'm shopping for a car now and it is very hard in most cars to find a mid to high level trim package(especially to get all the new high tech safety features) without leather. Keep putting out the message!!
thanks, keep spreading the word as a customer!
can someone please help me.. I wanted to buy a new futon.. the one I'm looking at says it's high quality Faux Leather.. is that gonna wear out faster then real leather?
there is very high quality leatherette and there is cheap one. The good leatherette will hold way longer.
Autogefühl thanks for the reply. how do I tell cheap stuff from good stuff
thats tough, as it is even often impossible to differentiate between animal skin and faux leather. You have to ask the shop/dealer where you are buying and ask for in-depth product details. What are you planning to buy?
Autogefühl looking at a 279$CAD Faux Leather Futon from Home Depot.. Manufactured in China it says on details but China does make good quality items majority of the time
is that a sofa?
I think it's true, that the perception is leather = luxury. I think it's also outdated, impractical and a tragedy that animals lose their lives for misconception and vanity.
Good on you Thomas, for explaining your reasoning. I've noticed you mention in several videos that you wouldn't go for the leather, and now I know why.
+Jason Mi thanks, appreciated!
I was already sold when you told in every car review that alcantara is actualy better in the winter (not that cold) and summer (not that warm and more cooling). I choose the leather seat option instead of alcantare, while alcantara was cheaper. I now know better and in the future will choose the alcantara option.
+Joel C way to go Joel!
Good for you for sticking up for what you believe in!
Thanks. Was deciding between accepting a vehicle with bmw sensatec/alcantara vs waiting for real leather, I'll just go with the sensatec/alcantara and just do a repair if needed.
Of course! Great!
Thank you for raising awareness of this issue. Certainly something I will look into carefully next time I buy a car. For what it is worth, I went with a leather steering wheel over alcantera on my gt4, due to the long term wear and care of alcantera on this high touch surface. I did NOT get the leather dashboard though.
+goons123flofy great to hear that I could give some important information!
We should boycott buying cars made from real leather
true
Really good video, well done Thomas :)
+OwnedByNemz thx m8 !
Is the DAKOTA leather option on BMWs real or fake leather?
+Verliebt sensatec is the leatherette
Dakota leather is "real" leather in that it came from an animal, but it's very low grade reconstituted/bonded leather.
I have been a lifelong vegetarian but I can really appreciate someone who resolved to becoming a vegetarian. I wish that every automaker would give us an option of getting alternatives to animal hide. Keep up the great work Thomas!
+Rahul Verma great to hear that Rahul!
Thank You for taking a stand and sharing your opinion on this issue :) In Canada MB, BMW and Audi typically give you the choice of leatherette (base) or real leather, but cloth seats are almost non existent at the "luxury" level. I drive a MINI Cooper S with leather as finding a cloth car with manual transmission was difficult, and I hated the smell (!) of the vinyl. I'm thinking my next MINI will be a JCW, and I noticed there is a JCW cloth available. As you said, it's much cooler in the summer, and warmer in the winter ! Anyway, keep up the great work!
Weiter so! Sehr sympathisch :-)
I love how you express your thoughts without over-excitement but not without compassion. This video is very good and so true, it deserves much more views and likes :-)
Vielen Dank !!
@3:40 Your mother's skin analogy really hit home. Some people use their parents' ashes as fertiliser to grow a tree or some other memorable plant 🪴
Wow, I didn't expect such a message from a car channel. Good job! Go vegan! :)
+Arturs Krastiņš great, thanks :)
Thanks for sharing this!, any chance for getting a very detailed comparison/review on Real leather animal skin vs faux leather leatherette & alcantara/dinamica microfiber concerning everyday use? Sweating, cold, resistance to damage and wear etc? I have been talking to a lot of people concerning this and everybody seems to have the same interest to learn.
Keep up with the great reviews!
+panathaninf I ll try that at some point !
Awesome video! Thank you very much for making this video and this message! ✨❤️🌟
I support you on the journey.
We're changing the world man..thanks for being one of the good guys.
Hey..do you have a list or something maybe of companies that offer faux leather even on luxury/upper scale models (E.G 6 series..7 series,, S class..etc..etc..)
It's hard to find info about it online as they are not trying very hard to advertise faux leather.
+Tom Yevsikov thanks again Tom! Indeed I have been thinking about such a list. It is really hard you kinda have to study each price list of a car
I worked as an intern at a car dealership and observed the following thing: Men mostly want alcantara or cloth in their new vehicles for pragmatic reasons but then their wives step in and push for the leather option since they don't want to "be seen" in a car without leather seats.. Vegan couples will probably form an exception here but I think in general this holds true. Most men buy a car in order to impress or appease women (amongst other things) and they will buy whatever they think women like the most. So maybe if female fashion designers stopped putting leather on a pedestal, things could start moving into a better direction more quickly. I for one see no need for real leather anymore when there's so much other materials to choose from.
interesting aspect, and indeed frightening. But the good thing is that more women show compassion and reason when it comes to animal cruelty.
Bravo Thomas!!! I share your thoughts as well.
+Yonas Mekuria great to hear that!
Thanks for putting that out there, I wasn't aware and now my future decisions will be better informed!
+Muhlewethu Maluleka thanks for your interest!
Respect you for speaking your mind even though we don't always agree. I don't have full leather interiors in my cars anymore because Volkswagen rarely offers them across the board even on some top trim models (Golf TDI/TSi, Jetta TDI/TSi) in the US. That being said, leather is more of maintenance issue so it's simpler not having to treat them with conditioner every so many weeks.
Man has been killing man for thousands of years now and I don't think that's ever going to stop. If he'll kill another man, an cow, lamb, or pig doesn't stand a chance.
You do not need to treat automotive leather every few weeks, only give it a clean with warm soapy water weith a soft cloth then dry it, again with a soft cloth.
There is an impervious clear coating on leather which protects the hide, no need for any treatment.
Many car exporters to the US do not ship cars with anything but leather because the domestic demand for luxury/premium cars without leather is practically zero.
When a few luxury/premium cars were sold without leather, and they came back for trade a few years later, the dealers could not sell them on, as no one wanted them, they ended up retrimming them in leather to shift the cars off their forecourts.
Im getting a new car in a couple months, and I 100% will not be getting leather seats. I probably would have bought the leather seat option if I never started watching your videos.
+Panthers1521 Very nice! Thanks a lot!
This really got me thinking about the implications of buying leather products, and certainly made me appreciate my M-sport Alcantara upholstery in my BMW.
+MyRandomReviews thanks! And great pick :)
respect your view point, but i will still stick with my leather, one person (me) not buying leather will not change anything. I am not custom building my cars on their websites, I just buy what is in the showroom, and 9/10 times it has leather in it.
+IShoNoHonor too bad :/ They should offer the alternatives more often
Really well argumented video, you are right! Also would you please share what cars you have owned and own at the moment? Greetings from Finland :)
+Fung Shooey Hey, thanks for your approval! My vehicle history so far was: Suzuki RM125, Kawasaki KX125, Beta Motard, Smart forfour, Jaguar XF, Jaguar XK :)
I can't believe I'm only now seeing this.
Apart from the fact that you haven't age a day (it seems), this information is pretty top tier.
My current vehicle has a leather interior and whenever possible I try to avoid parking in the sun because I'm left baking when I jump back in. It so annoying.
My next vehicle (BMW 218i , loved your review of it) will have alcantara seats. The leather just isn't worth it to me anymore. Even if it's considered "luxury".
Thank u so such!
@@autogefuehl you're welcome. Love your work so I'd greatly appreciate it if you guys keep doing what you do.
I always prefer cloth seats. Leather seats are so uncomfortable. As you said, they get hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Bare skin sticks to them in the summer when you want to wear shorts. Also they crack more quicky than cloth seats wear. And the ethical issues... It's a no-brainer really.
+Argantonis so true!
Leather looks nice but yes, it's cold or too hot, makes annoying noise, doesn't age well and on top of that, is expensive! And also as you say, there are ethical and environmental reasons too for choosing something else. My choise is cloth seats because they are the most comfortable.
+Kobbetop way to go!
this is now my new favorite car review Channel! The Vegan car Reviews!
+Event Horizon way to go m8!
the car your in has a leather steering wheel...do you know how I can get a non leather steering wheel from the factory? otherwise a cow was murdered
Yes indeed. We are always keeping you updated on Autogefuehl on this issue. I now had talks with Mercedes and they say that you can order a steering wheel replacement with every Mercedes now. So you pick fabric seats or alcantara / leatherette seats which are on the price list and then you tell your dealer (its not in the price list, not official) that you want the steering wheel to be leatherette instead of cow skin. Works with every Mercedes now. Also Tesla is offering full animal friendly interiors now. Other brands, you often just pick very cheap cars with plastic steering wheel, but for the majority of mid-price cars there are no real solutions yet. Do you want to buy a Mercedes?
Great video spreading some good awareness. I hope this reaches out to a wider audience. I am sure many like me would have thought that leather on the car seats was generally a byproduct!
What about eating bugs or not to live at all?
Totally not about this. It’s about compassion towards animals
@@autogefuehl yes, of course😁
This is amazing. Never thought of it that way
+Paballo Mthakathi thanks so much for considering!
Great food for thought. And something to fuel an honest, discussion regarding material selection, ethics, and sustainability. Thanks!
+Joshua Junker thanks josh!