About Our Leather What is Vegetable Tanned Leather? The famous milk advertising campaigns told us that Happy Cows Come From California , but the term leather tanning has nothing to do with sunbathing cattle. Leather tanning is the process of taking an animal hide and treating it to create leather. Vegetable tanned leather is leather that is tanned using natural tannins from trees. At Alta Andina, our leather is tanned using the naturally occuring tannins from quebracho and mimosa trees, both of which are native to the Andean region. The bark and pods from these trees are ground to create a powder of concentrated tannins. Our hides are placed in a wooden tumbler and mixed with the natural quebracho and mimosa tannins for several days, until they turn a beautiful beige color. What emerges is leather that has a nostalgic, earthy smell, a tough, durable feel, and will develop a beautiful patina, which are all hallmarks of vegetable tanned leather. Our leather is naturally a beautiful beige color, free of dye, which we call our Natural color. To make our three other colors, we use aniline dyes that penetrate the hide, infusing the color into the leather so that it lasts a lifetime. Our Café (dark brown), Miel (honey) & Noche (black) colors all start with our Natural beige hides, and are placed back in the wooden tumbler to mix with the soluble dyes for several more days. This aniline dyeing process creates a rich color without masking the leather’s natural grain pattern. Once the color is dry, we finish the process by applying a mix of neatsfoot oil and beeswax. This natural blend creates a protective coating that is supple, yet strong. Our leather is never painted, so the color won’t peel or fade over time. In fact, the color of our leather will become richer and deeper as it ages. This natural softening and darkening of leather is called a patina , and develops over time from exposure to sunlight, oxygen, and the oils in your hands. Our natural tanning and finishing processes mean your product will look better as it ages. About Alta Andina Our Mission & Vision Alta Andina responsibly sources and manufactures our products within our sustainable & ethical supply chain located entirely in the Andean region. We carefully consider each provider in our supply chain, and every material in our products. We are driven by our commitment to conserve the environment, traditions, and heritage of the Andean region. We aim to shift consumer demand and industry standards toward responsibly sourced and manufactured products.