A leather jacket is a high quality, durable slow fashion product and can be worn for many years. Each jacket is carefully handcrafted and is a special piece of clothing due to the uniqueness of the natural material leather.
We only accept leather from animals that have been bred for meat production, so our leather is a by-product of the food industry. As a matter of principle, we do not use exotic, threatened or endangered species.
There are different tanning methods, the best known are chrome tanning and the vegetable tanning method. The naturally occurring element chromium is an important component of the human organism. Small amounts of non-toxic chromium, such as chromium III, can therefore always be detected in the skin of humans and animals. Chrome tanning is a fast tanning process, but there is a risk that the non-toxic, stable chromium III salts will oxidize under certain conditions, such as heat and moisture. This can result in chromium VI, which is considered allergenic and carcinogenic.
In order to prevent this, the Mauritius Group started to switch parts of the delivery to vegetable-tanned leather in 2014. The vegetable tannins are extracted from wood, bark and leaves. Since spring 2021, we have been tanning almost entirely vegetable-based without the addition of chromium salts in accordance with the European DIN standard EN 15987: 2015. This uses the strict chromium limit of 0.1% of the material weight (mass of chromium / total dry weight of leather) in order to exclude the addition of chromium salts. Deliveries that exceed this value will be refused by us.
Mauritius tests both the leather and all accessories continuously for pollutants by independent test laboratories. Twice a year, the German Fashion Association, of which we are a member, prepares the current RSL (Restricted Substances List) and thus publishes the legislative requirements. Our jackets are tested on the basis of these current specifications.
For the Mauritius Group, social responsibility is an integral part of the company philosophy. Important aspects are decent working conditions and compliance with social standards in the production facilities. Any form of discrimination, exploitation, forced labor and child labor will not be tolerated under any circumstances.