Impakter
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
    • Entertainment
    • Literature
    • Music
    • Photography
  • Style
    • Architecture
    • Design
    • Fashion
    • Foodscape
    • Lifestyle
  • Society
    • Business
    • Environment
    • Foreign Affairs & Politics
    • Health
    • Tech
    • Science
    • Start-up
  • Impact
    • Eco Life
    • Circular Economy
    • COP26
    • CityLife
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
    • Sustainability Series
      • SDGs Series
      • Shape Your Future
      • 2030: Dream or Reality
    • Philanthropy
      • United Nations
      • NGO & Charities
      • Essays
    • Your Voice
      • Empower Earth
      • Empower Equality
  • SUSTAINABILITY INDEX
  • Partners
  • About
    • Team
    • Global Leaders
    • Contributors
    • Write for Impakter
    • IMPAKTER Italy
    • Republishing Content
    • Permissions and Copyright
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
    • Entertainment
    • Literature
    • Music
    • Photography
  • Style
    • Architecture
    • Design
    • Fashion
    • Foodscape
    • Lifestyle
  • Society
    • Business
    • Environment
    • Foreign Affairs & Politics
    • Health
    • Tech
    • Science
    • Start-up
  • Impact
    • Eco Life
    • Circular Economy
    • COP26
    • CityLife
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
    • Sustainability Series
      • SDGs Series
      • Shape Your Future
      • 2030: Dream or Reality
    • Philanthropy
      • United Nations
      • NGO & Charities
      • Essays
    • Your Voice
      • Empower Earth
      • Empower Equality
  • SUSTAINABILITY INDEX
  • Partners
  • About
    • Team
    • Global Leaders
    • Contributors
    • Write for Impakter
    • IMPAKTER Italy
    • Republishing Content
    • Permissions and Copyright
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Impakter
No Result
View All Result
Home Eco Life

Waste Not, Want Not: An Interview with Leather Bag Maker, Alicia Linz

The founder of accessories brand, Alicia Victoria, is tackling pervasive waste in the leather industry

byClara Aseniero
December 22, 2021
in Eco Life, Women Fashion
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Alicia Linz is the founder of Alicia Victoria, an accessories brand from Munich specializing in sustainable leather. By using the hides and flawed cutoffs from ecological hunters and farmers, Alicia is helping tackle the issue of pervasive waste in the leather industry, which is exacerbated by the lack of transparency and regulations for leather goods. With her holistic approach, Alicia sheds light on the value of organic and regenerative farming for humans, animals, and the environment.

What made you aware of the issues in the leather industry and how did you educate yourself on possible solutions?

I started working on the concept a little more than four years ago. From a conversation I had with a friend, I learned that the hides of animals that were legally hunted in Germany were not put to use and just discarded, so I did my own research and the further I dug into the details, the more interested I became. We have several problems when it comes to the leather industry in Germany. Firstly, the hides from hunters and farmers are not always put to use, and those that are aren’t used in their entirety. There’s a tremendous amount of waste. 

A grown cow produces about five square meters of leather hide, but most leather producers will use only a small portion of that, which was really shocking for me. I’ve been in the fashion industry for more than 12 years. I trained as a seamstress and pattern maker, and I studied Fashion and Design Management in Hamburg, but the intricacies of leather were completely new to me. So this conversation I had with my friend, who is a hunter, was the start of my education, and my research led me to connect with the ecological hunters and sustainable farmers in Germany. 

The second major problem is that there is no standard for leather, so producers don’t have to show where their product comes from, from what animal, or how it was made, and consumers have no way of knowing. The lack of transparency in the leather industry conceals a lot of terrible things behind the scenes. 

In the picture: Alicia Victoria handbag in brown. Photo credit: Alicia Linz

How do you source your materials and what do you look for in the people and producers that you work with?

For me factory farming is not an option. To be sure that the people I work with are not involved in factory farming, I pick up the raw material myself and I have personal contact with all the farmers and ecological hunters I work with. It’s impossible to be sustainable without knowing your value chain, so I’m very on top of it. 

I work with the Ecological Hunting Association of Brandenburg-Berlin, which is a registered association tasked with the conservation of forest land. One way they do this is by maintaining animal populations and allowing certain species to be hunted at certain times of the year. Everything is regulated to preserve an ecological balance. It’s very important to them that the animal is used in its entirety, so when I came to them with the solution for their hides, they welcomed me with open arms.

Instead of designs, you have one model that comes in different kinds of leather that vary according to their “flaws”. Can you explain the thinking behind this approach?

We have three different categories: the first is flawless leather; the second has some small  flaws like mosquito bites or small bumps; the third type is the most imperfect, it has some holes and scars. By using it, we want to show that the whole hide is worth working with. Right now we work with cow and deer hides and are developing a few other products for next year. 

Were you ever concerned that you would have difficulties selling a product that you readily marketed as “flawed” in some way? Has it been difficult to shift people’s mindsets away from seeing leather as this perfect material to something more unique, and “drawn from the life of the animal” as you say?

I knew that it would take time and patience, but since we have these three categories, we can satisfy different types of customers. Of course at the beginning it was difficult to explain my idea to others, before I even had the prototype or anything to show for it. Many people thought it was a bad idea because they couldn’t imagine that you could use imperfect leather to make a high-quality product. But now that I actually have the product, people understand. 

In the picture: Alicia in her atelier. Photo credit: Alicia Linz

With the adoption of the UN 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, sustainability is an essential guiding principle for businesses everywhere. What were some of the key learnings from your own path to sustainability and what are some of the future challenges you anticipate as the fashion industry responds to the greater demand for sustainable products.

Even if we have many interesting and sustainable concepts,  if people continue to consume too much, we will never be able to solve the problems we are currently facing. That’s the main thing for me, to help shift the mindset of consumers to invest in items like leather that are more expensive but that last longer. I have some leather bags from my grandmother that are more than 30 years old but are still in perfect condition. If you look after things well, they can last for more than one generation. 

I also want to show consumers that a lot of people are involved in creating something beautiful and long lasting – and that factors into the price. It’s important to have transparency across the value chain in order to build trust between producers and the consumer, to show them what it takes to create the final product. I think that’s the goal for the future, more transparency in the fashion industry.  


Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com. — In the Featured Photo: Alicia Linz Featured Photo Credit: Alicia Linz

Tags: ethical fashionLeatherRegenerative AgricultureSustainable fashion
Previous Post

Spielberg’s West Side Story Fails to Hit Box Office Notes 

Next Post

World Heritage Centre Now Headed by Urban Planning Expert From Cameroon

Clara Aseniero

Clara Aseniero

Clara leads content strategy at Impakter. She holds a Dual Master’s Degree in International History from Columbia University and the London School of Economics where she focused on environmental history.

Related Posts

A woman drinking from a Starbucks cup.
Eco Life

Is Starbucks Sustainable?

January 17, 2023
Patagonia vs The North Face Sustainability
Eco Life

Sustainability Battle of Brands: Patagonia vs The North Face

January 13, 2023
Green and blue markers
Eco Life

Greenwashing Warning Signs: How to Spot Them

January 12, 2023
Next Post
boy in front of mausoleum

World Heritage Centre Now Headed by Urban Planning Expert From Cameroon

Recent News

The Apocalypse Is Just 90 Seconds Away, Says the Doomsday Clock

The Apocalypse Is Just 90 Seconds Away, Says the Doomsday Clock

January 27, 2023
3 Positive ‘Tipping Points’ That Could Help us Out of Climate Crisis

3 Positive ‘Tipping Points’ That Could Help us Out of Climate Crisis

January 27, 2023
The Fossil Fuel Industry’s Anti-Climate Formula: ‘Deny, Deceive, Delay’

The Fossil Fuel Industry’s Anti-Climate Formula: ‘Deny, Deceive, Delay’

January 26, 2023
impakter-logo-light

Impakter informs you through the eco news site and empowers your sustainable lifestyle with its eco products marketplace.

Visit here IMPAKTER ECO for your eco products needs.

Registered Office Address

32 Lots Road, London
SW10 0QJ, United Kingdom


IMPAKTER Limited

Company number: 10806931

Impakter is a publication that is identified by the following International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is the following 2515-9569 (Printed) and 2515-9577 (online – Website).


Office Hours - Monday to Friday

9.30am - 5.00pm CEST


Email

stories [at] impakter.com

About Us

  • Team
  • Contributors
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Partners

By Audience

  • Lifestyle
  • Green Finance
  • Culture
  • Society
  • Style
  • Impact

Impakter Platforms

  • Media
  • Index

© 2023 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • ECO Products Shop – Try now!
  • Culture
  • Style
  • Society
  • Impact
  • Sustainability Index
  • About
    • Partners
    • Team
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy

© 2023 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.

Impakter.com uses cookies to enhance your experience when visiting the website and to serve you with advertisements that might interest you. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.