We know from the old ad campaigns that happy cows come from California, but leather tanning has nothing to do with sunbathing cattle. So what is leather tanning? The word tanning comes from the word tannin – which stems from the word tanna – an old Germanic word for an oak or fir tree. Oak trees, along with Andean tree species like quebracho, mimosa and tara, contain tannins that are excellent for turning an animal hide into leather.

Alta Andina’s leather is all tanned using a blend of Quebracho and Mimosa tannins. Hides are tumbled in this natural mixture for several days, then dried and finished.

The process of tanning leather is quite different depending on whether the tannery produces vegetable tanned leather or chrome tanned leather. So what’s the difference?