Feature on Car Design News!

Bader is a 153-year-old family-run premium leather supplier striving to combine traditional design and craftsmanship, with modern technology, sustainability and social responsibility

It’s sometimes hard to tell from mere words printed on a glossy page or digital snippets on social media channels, whether any large global organisation is truly eco-focused. But talking at length with numerous designers at Bader – one of the world’s leading manufacturers of premium leather for the automotive industry – it becomes quickly clear that they are passionate experts who firmly believe in the relevance of their products for sustainability-focused car brands and their designers.

That genuine concern for the planet comes from the top down at Bader. “For generations, environmentally conscious behaviour has been a cornerstone of our tradition,” CEO and fourth-generation member of the family business, Thomas Bader, explains. “We actively stand against environmental pollution. To us, nature is sacred, and we believe that waste has no place in it.”

Consumer views on leather are evolving. More and more, it’s being appreciated as a natural, recyclable material – an upcycled byproduct of the meat industry that’s crafted into a long-lasting, durable product built to stand the test of time.

If you want a special design, you have to be motivated and prepared to push the boundaries

“There’s a lot of demand for sustainability from our carmaker designers and also from their sales teams,” says Alexandra Dittrich, Bader’s global head of design. “So we have our own sustainability team, including an animal welfare manager who travels all over the world. Even though no cows are killed for their hides – they are a byproduct of the meat industry – we ensure they are treated with care under the best possible conditions.”

Those sustainability claims are independently verified too. Stefan Feustel, design manager at Bader’s North American operation says Bader meets and exceeds ISO standards and is one of the few leather suppliers to have ambitious CO2e reduction targets approved by the internationally recognised SBTi (Science Based Targets initiative).