InventorSpot

Is a product environmentally friendly if it’s made out of leather? What if it is made out of recycled leather? If you are not sure how to answer these questions take a look at Vancouver’s fashion designer, Ashley Watson’s recycled leather bags and other accessories.

Ashley Watson designs these elegant and brightly colored leather purses and accessories from pre-worn leather jackets she purchases at charity thrift stores. Each bag is handcrafted and incorporates features of the jackets (ex: buttons, pockets, zippers and seams) into the new bags so that each bag is one-of-a-kind.

Ashley began designing handbags with recycled leather in early 2005. Before she founded Ashley Watson Recycled Leather in 2006 she was a jewelry designer before that. Her recycled leather bags and other accessories are sold online and in stores all across North America. They recycled bags will soon sell in stores in Europe as well.

So here is a product design that sits on the borderline of environmentally friendly and not so environmentally friendly. It once was an animal killed to make a jacket, but now it’s a jacket that could end up in the landfill. Is it better to recycle or to shun it?

What do you think? Is it okay for someone, especially an environmentalist, to wear or use leather accessories even if they are made of recycled leather?

Via Inhabitat : Thanks Myra