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Originally Posted by
casey
Can you provide any information on the use of the above in the tanning process of leather? If i go with the Town and Country line, Document Chestnut (made in China, I believe, and sent to the US as a kit), is this a concern? Is a safer alternative to order the analine (more expensive) or the more expensive leathers from Europe? Please advise.
Thank you for this forum, Duane.
Specifically I can't state an absolute.
However, China is one of the countries that does not adhere to international tanning standards, and tanning hides is chemically a nasty business. There can be active carcinogens on the surface of leather than is not tanned to standards. This is not to say every hide from China is like that, but following the lead/toy and melamine in food products how trustful does want to be of Chinese made products? That's a call that everyone has to make for themselves. If there are active carcinogens on the surface on the leather, they can be absorbed into the bloodstream via sweat glands.
Hancock and Moore has two hides that come from China, Document and Cavalier. Those make up a large portion of the Town and Country program as it currently stands. However when the new program is released in January I anticipate there will be many more options. I've been told by my H&M reps that they want to get totally away from the Chinese hides in the product line, so that may very well happen in the near term. Again, we will have to wait and see.
Personally, I would never buy an finished hide for myself. I may be a "leather snob", but finished leathers are too processed for my taste. I'd rather spend a little more and get a fine aniline - after all I expect 20 years easy from the piece. But yes, they are going to cost more and require a little more caution in keeping oily things away from them.
The Town and Country program is a great way to save quite a bit on a sofa, if you like the hide offered. There is no difference in construction quality, just the cover is all that is changed. Most mainstream sales are in the Town and Country collection, so its quite popular. At the end of the day it comes down to your personal budget for the piece and the leather you want to look at and sit upon for the next twenty years.
Glad to help!
Duane Collie
Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
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