Recycled Interiors Look Really Nice These Days—Are They Sustainable?
Automakers are building cars with interiors made of recycled materials. Is this actually a move towards sustainability?
Written by Alex Reale
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
The makers of luxury cars are not shy about one-upmanship. Customers are lured to the lot with the promise of hidden umbrella compartments, champagne chillers, or storage compartments accessed with a thumbprint. Whatever is a must-have on your list, you can be sure that there is a common thread in this luxury tapestry: a leather interior.
But sinking into a leather seat may no longer be the status symbol that it once was. Read on to learn about the move toward recycled interiors that is redefining luxe, and the questions it raises about
sustainability
.We’re still arguing over this one
The question of leather interiors is a bit of a fraught one. There is the ever-present moral dilemma of slaughtering an animal to decorate a space, but there is also the constant debate about sustainability.
A move toward faux leather would have far-reaching consequences—but of what kind? Some point to the biodegradability of natural leather as a clear win for the environment, noting that faux leather often incorporates plastics with painfully long half-lives. Would outfitting millions of vehicles with material that will definitely outlive us be the automatic right call?
Plus, most market forecasting points to an increase in the use of leather in car interiors in the coming years.
Car and Driver
notes that 10 years ago, 46% of consumers reported buying new cars with leather interiors. Now that number is 53%. This trend stands in contrast to the constant low-grade chatter about using recycled materials that has defined the 2010s and 2020s so far. What could be causing this disconnect between our emerging new values and our purchases?
Key tension points
As is always the case, we have to follow the money. Faux leather, or leatherette, has been a notoriously low-quality replacement for the real deal, and consumers have been correspondingly lukewarm about spending on it. The solution, then, is to come up with a leather replacement that is affordable and high quality. And this is the problem that many manufacturers are tackling.
Automotive Manufacturing Solutions
reports on a few automakers that are turning toward recycled materials to cover their interiors. Jaguar Land Rover is now using a material called Econyl nylon for portions of its vehicles’ interiors. Econyl nylon combines recycled plastic, unused fabric from clothing companies, and old fishing nets. Range Rover often utilizes eucalyptus textile, and Audi will upholster your seats with a yarn made of recycled bottles. Up-and-comer Rivian skipped the leather phase entirely and is shipping trucks plastered with “vegan leather,” says Car and Driver.
These interiors appear to be every bit as polished and beautiful as their leather counterparts, but true connoisseurs may have specific complaints about look and feel. Plus, as Car and Driver points out, this may be a case of cart before the horse: consumers still haven’t shown automakers that they’re all in on this brave new world. King Leather may still have a few years left in his reign.
Result: inconclusive
If consumers are passing the buck, then the next question is about the costs to the automakers themselves. Would a move towards recycled materials help their businesses long term?
One BMW spokesperson, Kai Zoebelein, points to the importance of the “whole value chain,” reports Automotive Manufacturing Solutions. Zoebelein notes that creating a system that relies on converting new material from waste will help with “resource management” for BMW, as well as benefit the environment. BMW is betting that using recycled materials will yield a cheaper manufacturing process.
We don’t have a ton of evidence for the lowering of costs or the sustainability of the move toward recycled interiors so far. Regardless, many car companies are incorporating repurposed plastics in their interior designs and hoping that the market will find them. At least we’re killing fewer animals in the bargain.
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