Apple to remove animal leather from products
In exciting news for anyone following the Apple company, they have today announced their first-ever carbon-neutral products in the all-new Apple Watch lineup.
The most exciting part of this news was the announcement of the elimination of animal leather from their products moving forward!
Here’s what Apple had to say:
“Innovations in design and clean energy have driven dramatic reductions in product emissions of over 75 percent for each carbon neutral Apple Watch.1 This milestone marks a major step in the company’s journey toward its ambitious Apple 2030 goal to make every product carbon neutral by the end of the decade, including the entire global supply chain and the lifetime use of every device Apple makes.”
Animal Leather Elimination
As part of Apple 2030 and the company’s broader environmental efforts, Apple has ended the use of leather across all of its product lines, announced its first entirely fiber-based packaging for the new Apple Watch lineup,2, and continued to expand the use of recycled materials in iPhone. The company also introduced a new tool in the Home app called Grid Forecast,3 which helps inform users when their power grid has cleaner energy available, so they can decide when to use electricity.
“At Apple, we have a longstanding and proven commitment to leading the fight against climate change. Our focus on renewable energy and low-carbon design has already driven industry-leading emissions reductions, and we’re not slowing down,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives. “We’ve achieved an important milestone in making the world’s most popular watch carbon neutral — and we will keep innovating to meet the urgency of the moment.”
Every Product Carbon Neutral by 2030
Apple has adopted a clear and rigorous approach to product decarbonization that prioritizes reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the three biggest sources across the product life cycle: electricity, materials, and transportation. Only after Apple steeply cuts product emissions, will the company apply high-quality carbon credits from nature-based projects for emissions that cannot yet be avoided or reduced with existing solutions.
Each carbon neutral Apple Watch model meets the following strict criteria: 100 percent clean electricity for manufacturing and product use, 30 percent recycled or renewable material by weight, and 50 percent of shipping without the use of air transportation.4
These combined efforts result in at least a 75 percent reduction in product emissions for each model.The company will use high-quality carbon credits to address the small amount of remaining emissions, resulting in a carbon neutral product footprint.
Every carbon neutral Apple Watch — which includes any aluminum Series 9 and SE models when paired with a new Sport Loop, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 when paired with a new Trail Loop or Alpine Loop — is certified by SCS Global Services, a leader in environmental standards and certification.
Innovating in Low-Carbon Design
Apple has pioneered the use of many key recycled materials in its products through world-class product engineering, extensive design qualification, and supply chain expertise. The new products announced today build on these achievements.
To further reduce impact on the planet, Apple is ending the use of leather across all of its product lines, including iPhone accessories and Apple Watch bands.
The company will replace leather with a new textile called FineWoven, an elegant and durable twill made from 68 percent post-consumer recycled content. FineWoven offers a subtle luster and a soft, suedelike feel, and is available on iPhone MagSafe cases and wallets as well as the Magnetic Link and Modern Buckle Apple Watch bands. As recycled and renewable materials often have a lower carbon footprint than primary materials, Apple’s industry-leading progress in the use of recycled content also advances the company’s Apple 2030 goal. The new FineWoven material has significantly lower emissions compared to the more carbon-intensive leather, and both the new iPhone 15 and the Apple Watch lineups advance progress toward the company’s 2025 targets for the use of 100 percent recycled metals in key components.
This includes 100 percent recycled rare earth magnets and the company’s first use of 100 percent recycled cobalt in the battery of iPhone 15, Apple Watch Series 9, and Apple Watch Ultra 2.5 Additionally, the popular Sport Loop has been redesigned with 82 percent recycled yarn, which includes material from discarded fishing nets.
Customers looking to upgrade to the new carbon neutral Apple Watch models can take advantage of Apple Trade In, and Apple will refurbish the device for a new owner, or recycle it for free.
Final Thoughts
Whilst Apple like most companies is certainly not perfect, we were thrilled to see (from a vegan perspective) the elimination of animal leather in the supply chain.
Apple’s focus on sustainability is also a great step in the right direction and we hope to see many more companies adopting similar positions in the future.
To see more vegan news stories like this one, visit our news section here.
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