Denim Brand Nudie Jeans Swaps Leather Patches For Vegan Paper

Swedish brand Nudie Jeans will replace its leather patches with vegan paper this fall. “Hey, vegans. Our beef is over,” the company announced on social media. Nudie Jeans’ website now features a landing page explaining that it is replacing its existing leather back patches with vegan “jarcon” paper. “That’s good news if you’re a vegan,” the company states. “It’s even better news if you’re a cow.” Eliina Brinkberg, Nudie Jeans Corporate Social Responsibility manager, explained that the company chose to replace leather patches with vegan materials due to several concerns. “Even today, the traceability of leather is difficult, and the production processes are resource intense,” Brinkberg said. The brand was also motivated to remove leather for ethical reasons. “We know [about] this, and we wanted to find an option [where] leather was not necessary,” Brinkberg said about the inherent animal cruelty in the leather industry.