By
Richard Humphreys |
Luxury and sustainability are key considerations when cruise lines are selecting products to decorate and equip their ships. As a durable material that is easy to maintain and has a nice feel, leather is an obvious choice in comparison to other surface materials.
“No other material can achieve a luxury feel like leather,” says Jimmy Ahlgren, sales and marketing director at Elmo Leather. “It speaks to your senses with its great touch, pleasant scent and luxury appeal.”
Elmo Leather’s biggest seller within the cruise industry is elmosoft. “It is a fantastic chrome-free, semi-aniline leather with a great feel that comes in 70 colours,” says Ahlgren. “Architects love the range of contemporary colours that can easily be combined with the high-end fabrics on the market.”
In addition, Elmo Leather has developed a sustainability life cycle chart to show the ways in which the company runs a sustainable and environmentally friendly operation. “Leather itself is an upcycled by-product from the food and dairy industry, so we generate zero waste in the process,” says Ahlgren. “All the other by-products produced in the leather process are sold to either be recycled, reused or turned into energy.”
For example, Elmo Leather recycles the water used in the leather production process. “It is turned into drinking water,” says Ahlgren.
Elmo Leather’s sustainable approach has enabled the company to become carbon neutral on energy. Coupled with the fact that leather is biodegradable, the company is in a strong position to showcase its sustainability credentials to customers. “Sustainability is crucial for any industry moving forward and it is for us within the leather tanning industry,” says Ahlgren.
This article was first published in the 2022 issue of Cruise & Ferry Interiors. All information was correct at the time of printing, but may since have changed.
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