Billy Tannery and British Pasture Leather spotlight regenerative British leather

British leather brand Billy Tannery, which has its own small-batch tannery in the Midlands, has collaborated with British Pasture Leather, which sources hides from farms certified by Pasture for Life, to launch a new handbag that showcases regenerative British leather.

The ‘Fauna’ marks Billy Tannery’s first handbag and combines its sustainable deer suede with British Pasture Leather’s cattle leather from cattle raised on regenerative farms in the UK, championing positive environmental and welfare practices.

The bag can be worn as either a crossbody or shoulder bag and has been designed with British Pasture Leather co-founder Alice Robinson, a graduate designer from the Royal College of Art Fashion Accessory course, known for promoting zero-waste from the meat industry.

The collaboration aims to spotlight the new wave of British businesses redefining leather and hides from certified Pasture for Life cattle from regenerative farms that increase soil carbon, improve biodiversity, and have high animal welfare.

In addition, both brands champion vegetable-tanned leather, fully traceable to the source, while celebrating “leather filled with character,” re-educating consumers on the beauty of “stories of a life well-lived” that showcase through natural scratches and marks that make each piece of leather unique.

The name ‘Fauna’ also reinforces this link, as it is a word for “animal life traced back to the god of earth and fertility”.

Micro tannery Billy Tannery collaborates with British Pasture Leather

Commenting on the collaboration, Jack Millington, founder of Billy Tannery, said: “Launching the ‘Fauna’ is a groundbreaking moment for us in many ways. Not only is it our first handbag, but the project allowed us to work with a company we’ve admired for a long time.

“An exciting community is building around positive grassroots leather projects in the UK and this collaboration with British Pasture Leather is a proud moment.”

Billy Tannery was founded in 2016 and has a vertically integrated supply chain from hide to final product. It offers bags, wallets, aprons and small leather goods.

British Pasture Leather was founded in 2020 by Robinson and Sara Grady, inspired by a belief that regenerative agriculture is a critical solution in renewing soils, stewarding ecosystems, and reforming food and fashion systems. It aims to offer a new option for brands and designers to choose leather that delivers positive impacts for land, ecosystems, animals, people, and nature.

The Billy Tannery x British Pasture Leather ‘Fauna’ handbag, made in Somerset, England, will have an initial limited batch, priced at 585 pounds.