Nothing says green like leather seats
Hybrids, composites and fuel cells are nice, but you're already sitting on an environmentally friendly car component, so says Rodney Hammond, vice president and general manager at Seton Co., a supplier of leather materials to the automotive industry.
"When you think about it, leather is the ultimate recycled material," he said in a recent interview. "You don't grow cows for the skin, you do it for the beef or the dairy. We take what would otherwise be waste and turn it into a beautiful, luxurious product."
He acknowledged that the PETA-set might not agree, but said that "99.9 percent of customers would choose leather seats" if price were not a factor.
For leather lovers, Hammond said they should see a lot more cowhide in their cars in future years. Seaton projects that in the next decade, 50 percent of its sales will come from leather wrapped components, such as steering wheels, gear shifters and instrument panels -- up from 20 percent today.
