At Naguisa, we strive to create shoes that not only stand the test of time, but that get even better with age. That's why we advocate for the use of high-quality natural materials like 100% vegetable-tanned leather, free of chrome and other toxic metals.
Vegetable-tanned leather is made with an ancient method that uses tannins and ingredients found in the plant world. The most common ingredients are tree bark and leaves, but fruits and roots are also used.
Because it’s a natural process, the final color of the leather can vary slightly in tone and shade depending on the mix of materials used. It’s also nice to see the visible imperfections, since they're natural marks picked up over the animal’s lifetime like scars or insect bites. This is different from chrome tanning, which uses a combination of minerals, acids, and salts to tan the leather quickly and homogeneously, covering up any memory of the animal's skin.