Notes from the lab.

Biodegradable, compostable, disintegrable: three words that are not the same

Why “biodegradable” on its own tells you almost nothing, and what to ask for instead.

Inside the compost bin: what ISO 20200 actually tests

A plain-English walk through the lab-scale composting simulation, and what its result does and does not tell you.

Why carbon dioxide tells you whether microbes are eating your leather

The idea behind ISO 20136, and why measuring a gas is more convincing than looking at crumbs.

What is left behind: ecotoxicity and the compost your material makes

A material can break down perfectly and still leave something you would not want in a garden. Here is how we check.

Does anything grow in it? The case for plant response testing

Chemistry can tell you what is in compost. A seedling tells you what it does.

Tanning chemistry and the end of life of leather

The same chemistry that makes leather last also shapes what happens when you try to compost it.

A buyer’s checklist for reading a “compostable” claim

Five questions that separate a robust claim from a hopeful one.

Mushroom, fruit and leaf leathers: plant-based is not the same as compostable

The new generation of leather alternatives is exciting. It is also where assumptions most need testing.

Life cycle assessment for beginners: the four steps

What an LCA actually involves, and why defining the question properly matters more than the software.

Offsetting, insetting and what makes a footprint claim stand up

Three terms that appear in nearly every net-zero conversation, and how to keep your claims defensible.

Forests of High Fertility

Nutrient-rich, well-drained forest soils.

What makes a certified compost?

Why “compostable” is a tightly controlled term.

Rainforests of Low Fertility

Biodiverse ecosystems whose organisms adapt to local soil and climate.

Biobased Materials and Carbon Storage

Biobased materials are those derived from biomass.

Nutrients into Soils: Part 1

How plants take up nutrients from soil.

Waste is a multi million dollar industry too..

Examining claims that hides and skins are meat-industry by-products.

The obstacle is the Way

Climate fatalism among British children.

Karls COP quest

What COP26 and the Glasgow Climate Pact mean for the leather industry.

Biogenic vs. fossil carbon

How carbon moves through the carbon cycle.

Influence of soil texture on pollutants

How soil texture affects pollutant mobility in contaminated soils.

Leather Fibre Structure and Strength

The properties behind leather's appeal and durability.

Compost Maturity and Stability

How compost maturity is measured through its humus content.

What is a “Sustainable Diet” in the UK? Part 3/3: A World Without Meat

What is a “Sustainable Diet” in the UK? Part 2/3: Environmental Impacts

What is a “Sustainable Diet” in the UK? Part 1/3: GHG Emissions

Opening the series with greenhouse gas emissions.

The composting of leather products

Most discarded footwear ends up in landfill.

Composting Leather By-products

Raw hides and skins biodegrade quickly in compost.

What is Compost? Part 1

Composting as the biodegradation of organic matter into humic material.

Exotic Stingray Leather and Sustainability

Balancing economic and environmental aspects.

Waste Reduction in the Leather Industry 3/3: Reusing Leather Solid Wastes

A circular economy model.