Mulberry’s ‘true north’ points to the farm
The leathergoods brand has teamed up with British Pasture Leather for a collection that tells of a closer connection to animals and the land.
Luxury brand Mulberry believes a stronger connection with natural ecosystems is the way to disassociate itself from negative connotations around cattle rearing, such as deforestation and methane, rather than following some of its peers in exploring alternatives to leather. Almost 90% of its products are made using leather and, as the biggest manufacturer of luxury leathergoods in the UK, it has made this stand in the material’s defence.
Five years ago, to mark Earth Day 2021, it published its Made To Last Manifesto, which promised a “transformative approach to leather sourcing” and vowed to work more closely with its suppliers, using a collaborative approach to create a transparent chain for its raw materials. This ethos struck a chord with Sara Grady, co-founder of British Pasture Leather, who was in the early days of the initiative and describes the manifesto as a “bold and inspiring declaration of support for precisely the sort of vision we were forming at that time”. She sought a connection with Mulberry’s sustainability manager, which would prove to be the beginning of a partnership that both parties hope to expand on.
To celebrate the five-year anniversary of the manifesto’s publication, as well as Mulberry’s 55th, has brand has released a British Pasture Leather collection that celebrates the best of British farming, tanning and manufacture. The four designs include new and heritage styles: the Boston appears in an antique oak, while the classic Bayswater is available in a vintage ebony. The collection also includes the Darley cosmetic pouch and a zipped pouch. Each design is manufactured at The Rookery, Mulberry’s flagship Somerset factory, and is made from vegetable-tanned hides.
Encouraging response
Sara and co-founder Alice Robinson launched British Pasture Leather in 2020 after a realisation that leather as a material had become so disconnected from the farm and the animal that it was missing an intrinsic part of the story – linking these back together could offer value both for the supply chain and the consumer. Alice began her career as a designer, with a Master’s project on using the skin from a single animal inspiring her research into materials’ provenance. Sara spent 15 years providing direction for food and farming enterprises and believes grazing animals can be “ecosystem engineers” that bring tremendously positive impacts for soil, biodiversity and landscapes. With a growing movement around regenerative farming systems, the connection to leather could support storytelling for the fashion sector.
“Our early days were experimental, but the encouraging response we got from designers, farmers and other supporters prompted us to build what is now a working system,” she tells us. “What began as a project focused on proving the value of traceable British hides has evolved into a much broader conversation around farmed landscapes, preferred materials, transparency and regional manufacturing. Rather than treating hides as anonymous by-products we are showing they are part of a wider British food and farming system.”
Flexible definitions
There has been a growing – albeit slowly – movement around regenerative farming in the fashion sector. While, of course, these kinds of systems have been around for millennia, with farmers rotating crops and animals, and using fallow times to regenerate soils and the ecosystems – the fashion sector has only really been talking about sourcing from regenerative systems within the past 10 years, or less, in most cases. The lack of availability and transparency of organic cotton has led to a demand for a new alternative to conventional fibres. Timberland and VF were among early investors in the research in terms of cattle.
One of the problems of the system is that there is no standard definition of ‘regenerative’, so companies have to come up with their own. Mulberry, for instance, has adopted that of regenerative farming festival organiser Groundswell, in that it can be “any formof farming that at the same time improves the environment”. LVMH has only set out its definition in the past few years. Its raw material supply chain manager, Guillaine Ipert, believes leather and fibres from regenerative farming systems are “the future”, while companies such as Burberry and Tapestry are members of the US-based system Land to Market, exploring what options are available there.
Another difficulty can be availability of these hides, then tracing them through the system. BPL works with Pasture for Life, a farmer-founded organisation that champions 100% pasture-fed livestock. Between them, they can connect the farm, abattoir, hide collector, tannery and finishing facility to offer fully traceable hides. The system works well, and there are currently more regeneratively raised hides in the UK than can be processed into leather, Sara tells us. “Our primary roadblock is tannery capacity – the UK’s once-abundant network of tanneries has reduced to just a few, and we are fortunate to have the opportunity to work with some of those remaining facilities,” she says.
Diversity in processing
Being able to tan the hides through a domestic system is a big part of the Mulberry collection story. All hides from this collection come from a single farm in the south-west of England, and are tanned in Bristol at Thomas Ware then finished in Northamptonshire at Blenkinsop Leathers. In 2024, Mulberry commissioned BPL to undertake research to assess the potential for accessing cattle hides from regenerative British farms, and while this highlighted the decline of the infrastructure and logistics network, it also demonstrated opportunities, they say. “The UK holds an extraordinary depth of tanning knowledge and craftsmanship even though the industry is smaller than it once was,” says Sara. “There is still tremendous expertise and talent for a great diversity of leather processing including chrome tanning, vegetable tanning, currying and producing wool-on sheepskins. What people might not realise is how fragmented production can be.”
She cites tannery closures in recent years, as well as the end of a “critical education programme” – the University of Northampton’s Institute for Creative Leather Technologies – as hampering career paths into the industry. “At the same time, grassroots initiatives such as ours have begun to emerge, aspiring to use local raw materials such as goat, deer and sheepskin as well as cattle hides. Like ours, these new enterprises are built on valuing traditions while creating a vision for future adaptation.”
To further foster these relationships, BLP has hosted Field Days in autumn 2024 and 2025, to provide designers and materials buyers with a deeper understanding of sustainable leather production and its environmental benefits. The two-day events included visits to a regenerative farm to witness biodiversity, soil management and grazing practices, and a tour of Blenkinsops to meet the people behind the leather.
Knowledge gaps
This feeds into the idea of education – the more brands and designers understand about the supply chain and the material, the more they will use it and tell the story to the consumer, it is hoped. Five years ago, conversations with brands were often limited to questions around regulatory compliance or basic certifications for leather, but those conversations are becoming more sophisticated with the acceptance of the connection to the animal, says Sara. “With that awareness, it is increasingly possible to have deeper conversations around farm-level impacts, animal welfare, traceability and supply chain resilience.”
However, she thinks more flexibility is needed when it comes to processing and finishing approaches. “Uniformity is a priority for mass-production of identical products. But actually, leather is a natural material with inherent variation,” she says. “The sophistication we are starting to see is that brands are embracing this level of character and variation – celebrating the marks as evidence of the material’s origin.”
Hides proximity
Moving forward, Sara hopes to build stronger relationships between agriculture, leather and fashion. For its part, Mulberry is mapping its leather supply chain in collaboration with tannery partners and the Sustainable Leather Foundation as it works towards a “regenerative and circular” business model. The company, which makes half its main products in two Somerset-based facilities employing 240 craftspeople, as well as working with manufacturers in Turkey, has also introduced a traceability element into its tannery questionnaires, with hide proximity now factoring into sourcing decisions.
Mulberry’s CEO, Andrea Baldo, has expressed a desire to move even further towards regenerative sourcing. “Our true north in sustainability decision-making points to responsible leather sourcing, longer lasting product and lower emissions,” he says. The company’s turnover has surpassed £1 million and international expansion is under way. “Our partnership with British Pasture Leather is gaining momentum,” he adds. “This innovative leather embodies our values and our vision for the future, and we’re excited to bring it to life.”
At the launch of the ‘Mulberry made with British Pasture Leather’ collection, people along the supply chain, from the farm to the meat, to the tanning and finishing, the design team and product manufacturing were brought together. “We’d like moments like this to become the norm and not the exception,” says Sara. She wants more value placed on transparency, longevity, craftsmanship and regional resources. “And we’d like to see greater recognition for the raw materials coming from our local food system, viewed as a resource not waste. We believe there is energy and demand to make this work – what’s needed is the infrastructure to support these new networks.”
Mulberry’s beautifully British collection, from the farm to the consumer. It hopes to build on this momentum by improving visibility to farm level in its wider ranges. Credit: Mulberry
