Why do we use leather?

Leather production is one of the oldest crafts. People have been using leather for clothing and footwear for about 100,000 years. This high-quality, natural material is particularly durable. Good leather shoes are not disposable products, but accompany their wearers for a long time.
We make sure that our leather or raw materials made from animal skins are a by-product of food production. For us it is a very sustainable approach to produce high-quality, long-lasting products from the hides or the leathers produced from them - especially since most alternatives are made of plastic and it is important to consistently reduce plastic waste. In addition, there is no other material that has more positive properties for shoes than leather, especially when it comes to its breathability and protection against moisture.

However, we are looking into possible alternatives to leather and use them where we believe it makes sense - such as with our linings made of recycled material. Here, we pay particular attention to factors that promote sustainability and are environmentally friendly.

We do not use leather for outer soles. In recent years, we have also increasingly been developing shoes with alternative upper materials such as canvas or mesh. However, it has not yet been possible to develop a substitute that combines all the advantages of the natural product leather.

Here you can find more about the origin of our leather.

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Gabor | Animal Welfare | © Gabor Shoes AG, Rosenheim

Animal protection

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Gabor | Certified leather | © Gabor Shoes AG, Rosenheim

Leather origin

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