OUR MATERIALS
Not willing to compromise on our values, we work closely with select suppliers across the world to craft the highest quality, sustainably-sourced and ethical materials our customers know and love.
Why leather?
For us, it is about sustainability & longevity of our quality leathers. By sourcing ethical materials - working exclusively with hides that are a by-product of the meat industry, or natural casualties, that have traceability and Leather Working Group or equivalent certification, we can ensure the quality and sustainability of our materials. While we continue to innovate and source alternatives to provide choice, we choose leather for three key reasons:
Longevity
Leather, as a natural hide product, is inherently durable and long-wearing. We primarily use Full-Grain leathers, the highest quality available, preserving the natural texture and integrity of the hide. Our Calf Nappa is dyed and lightly coated to enhance its durability and water resistance, while still showcasing the natural grain variations. Despite their resilience, leathers require proper care to maintain their longevity. We recommend regular cleaning and conditioning with our rejuvenation kit, waterproofing, and storing away from direct sunlight to keep your Mr looking beautiful for years to come.
Biodegradability
Unlike most artificial leather alternatives on the market, which can take centuries to break down and are manufactured using fossil fuels or synthetic, plastic-based materials; quality, tanned leather may only take between 10-50 years to fully biodegrade on its own - leaving behind a far less lasting impact than its synthetic counterparts.
All our leathers are tested and certified free of Chrome VI, meaning our leathers are safe for human life and the environment, and will not release harmful chemicals into the ecosystem in their final stages of life.
Recyclable & repurposed
Due to its longevity and durability, our quality leathers can be recycled and repurposed into new products, helping to close the production loop and deliver a more circular economy. Our Recycle initiative also means customers can return their pre-loved products as part of our buy-back scheme, which we then use to craft our 100% recycled collection.
02.2 Materials we prefer
CALF NAPPA
Handcrafted from Full-grain Calf leather and milled to exude a buttery softness, each hide showcases all of the leather's natural grain and texture, making each Deadly Ponies’ piece a unique work of art. With a semi-aniline protective finish helping to maintain the integrity of the leather over time, our Calf Nappa is sourced from Leather Working Group gold-certified suppliers, ensuring the highest standards of quality and sustainability. Tanned in China using ethically sourced skins from New Zealand and America, Deadly Ponies’ leather is a by-product of the farming industry and free from Chrome VI, reflecting a commitment to responsible production and consumption.
HEAVY GRAINED CALF LEATHER
Handcrafted from Top-grain Calf leather, our Heavy Grained Calf is embossed with a pronounced grain, this increases the strength and durability of the leather, whilst creating a uniform finish for our larger Voyage pieces. With a semi-aniline protective finish helping to maintain the integrity of the leather over time, our Heavy Grained Calf is sourced from Leather Working Group gold-certified suppliers, ensuring the highest standards of quality and sustainability. Tanned in China using ethically sourced skins from New Zealand and America, Deadly Ponies’ leather is a by-product of the farming industry and free from Chrome VI, reflecting a commitment to responsible production and consumption.
NEW ZEALAND MERINO BULLE LAMB
Deadly Ponies’ Bulle Lamb is a Full-grain merino lamb nappa, tanned in the South of France using New Zealand Merino Lamb skins that are ethically sourced from farms in the mountains of the South Island. Like its namesake, the French term for ‘bubble’, each hide is shrunken to accentuate the natural bubbly texture inherent in lambskin. Our NZ Merino Lamb is a by-product of the farming industry and uses the natural process of vegetable tanning, reflecting a commitment to responsible production and consumption. With a semi-aniline protective finish helping to maintain the integrity of the leather over time, our Bulle Lamb is sourced from Leather Working Group gold-certified suppliers, ensuring the highest standards of quality and sustainability. Lambskin is a durable leather, but with any softer leather, the surface can be delicate with regular wear. We recommend regular leather conditioning, and to avoid abrasive surfaces.
LAMB NAPPA
Crafted from grounded seashells, a byproduct of the seafood industry, our eco-neoprene is a natural Rubber, bonded on either side with nylon knit. It is an incredibly durable material, both sunlight and water-resistant.A soft, fine-grained Italian Lamb leather with a semi-aniline finish, tanned in Avellino, Italy. Semi-aniline is defined as leather that has been dyed in a drum and finished with a process that involves a light surface coating of pigment, for enhanced scratch, water and abrasion resistance. Despite this increased durability, with any softer leather the surface can be delicate with regular wear. We recommend regular leather conditioning, and to avoid abrasive surfaces.
CALF SUEDE
Our Calf Suedes offer velvety softness without sacrificing durability. Farmed in the United States, Europe, and Oceania before being tanned with our supplier in Thailand. Our Supplier is certified by the Leather Working Group (LWG) and has achieved 100% physical traceability, meaning each hide can be physically traced back to its point of origin, ensuring a transparent supply chain, and responsible leather sourcing.
EXOTIC EMBOSSED CALF LEATHER
Handcrafted from roller-embossed Calf leather that recreates the natural scale pattern of exotic animal skin, each hide is hand painted and varnished to achieve a depth of colour and shine. In our commitment to sustainable and responsible sourcing, Deadly Ponies’ exotic leather boasts Chrome VI-free production methods and is tanned and finished in Italy by Leather Working Group gold-certified suppliers. Through our dedication to innovation and ethical practices - others may rely on exotic skins, we opt to recreate them, ensuring that luxury never comes at the expense of conscience.
SHEARLING LAMB
Deadly Ponies’ Shearling is tanned in Valencia, Spain with a gold-certified Leather Working Group supplier, produced in a tannery running on self-produced solar and natural gas energy.
We utilise two types of shearling in our products; Spanish Merino Lamb for our short-hair styles, and Spanish Toscana Lamb, a breed originating from Tuscany, Italy, for our long-hair styles.
In our commitment to sustainable and responsible sourcing, our Shearlings are a by-product of the farming industry, free from Chrome VI production, and are manufactured with sustainable and renewable energy.
CAPRA PYTHON
Our Capra Python is tanned and hand-finished in Italy with our supplier who is LWG Silver rated. Utilising goat leather sourced in Mongolia, it has been custom-printed and embossed to be a simulated representation of the exotic texture of Python without the use of exotic or endangered animals. Through our dedication to innovation and ethical practices - others may rely on exotic skins, we opt to recreate them, ensuring that luxury never comes at the expense of conscience.
RAFFIA
Our Raffia is eco-dyed, biodegradable and made from regenerated plant fibre. It is hand-woven by a collective in China, and each piece is completed with leather trimming fashioned by our partner manufacturers in Zhongshan, China. Due to their natural origins, your Deadly Ponies’ Raffia pieces can be lightly steamed, in the same way you would a garment, to refresh their appearance and remove any creases should these occur.
MOHAIR
Working with a small, family-operated business in New Zealand, our mohair is all ethically and locally sourced in New Zealand, with luxurious quality.
MOHAIR, WOOL AND CASHMERE
Working with a small, family-operated business in New Zealand, our mohair is all ethically and locally sourced in New Zealand, with luxurious quality. Our blankets are woven using wool sourced from Australia, and premium cashmere from Inner Mongolia, home of some of the finest cashmere material. Both materials are certified by Woolmark, ensuring their quality and genuity.
REACH CERTIFIED COTTON
Ensuring the protection of the environment and labour practices, certified REACH cotton does not use toxic chemicals. Our cotton is currently REACH standard and BCI certified, restricting the use of hazardous chemicals in its production.
HARDWARE
We haven’t just chosen brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, for its durability and aesthetic, but also its low environmental impact. With one of the lowest manufacturing carbon footprints for metals, solid brass can also be melted down, time and time again, being truly circular. Our brass is crafted using traditional sand-casting methods - often associated with high-quality jewelry casting, before being hand polished and lacquered to reveal and preserve its natural golden hues.
In select circumstances, we opt to utilise pure Zinc Hardware, one of the two base metals used in Brass alloy. Zinc is inherently recyclable and can be infinitely recycled without losing any of its strength and corrosion-resistant properties. Being naturally light, it affords us the ability to create and adorn our products with sculptural hardware elements that do not add additional excessive weight, as Brass would.
RECYCLED LEATHER
Using leather offcuts and scraps typically from shoes, furniture and garments, recycled leather is mulched into a fibre-like pulp with water, and then bound together, in a process similar to paper making, to achieve a similar look and feel to original leather. We are currently working with a supplier to develop a Deadly Ponies recycled leather, crafted from scraps of our signature, supple leathers, and amnesty products, to bring you the same luxurious quality, in truly circular fashion.