Ethics and Commitments: the 3 principles of the Peau De Vache team

PeaudeVache.com was born from a desire: to widely offer natural decoration . The choice of a natural product guides our actions and decisions as much as possible. We want our ethics and our actions to be as harmonious as possible. We invite you to take stock of our actions and decisions for an ever more ethical natural decoration .

Principle No. 1: Respect animals by selecting skins from the agri-food sector and by selecting their country of origin.

We do not wish to promote animal breeding in any way for the purpose of producing and selling skins/furs. Since the creation of PeauDeVache.com in 2006, the first principle that we have put in place is the following: the cowhides used are exclusively from the agri-food sector .

Why this choice? Throughout history, humans have always used animal skin to dress themselves, to keep warm, to create objects... Whether we are talking about Cro-Magnon Man or our noble ancestors of the Middle Ages, they did not use animal farms dedicated exclusively to the production of skins.

The origin of our cowhides, a selection based on legislation

Depending on the country of breeding, respect for the animal is not the same. We know this. This is why we carry out a strict selection on the countries of origin of the skins that we use for our decorative objects.

The country of origin of the products we offer has always been an important criterion. We are like you. To be in line with our ethics, we analyze the legislation of each country. Then, we choose the countries of origin where the legislation is the strictest and most complete. Today, the countries with which we work are mainly: France, New Zealand, Iceland, Australia…

To help you choose well, we try as much as possible to be transparent in the information communicated on each product. Whether it is products made of cowhide , sheepskin or other skins .

Principle No. 2: Promote and preserve genuine local/French know-how

This is a strong focus that we work on every day: the creation, development and production of local products. Result: today, more than 90% of the products offered on PeauDeVache.com are made in France .

We want to preserve as many as possible 3 areas of expertise in France:

• the tanner's profession through the delicate stage of tanning skins
• the profession of prototypist and seamstress , from development to manufacturing.
• logistics professions to store and deliver our products as efficiently as possible.

It is undeniable: by positioning this know-how in France, we gain in control and responsiveness.

Gender parity

This is an important point for us!

Our company is run by a woman, Sonia Mounier. Founder of Peau De Vache, she has always wanted to guarantee parity.

Today, we have complete parity: our team is made up of 50% men and 50% women.

Zoom in on our French workshop

Our manufacturing workshop is located in France, in Normandy. Our team of prototypers and seamstresses create, develop and produce unique decorative objects . For example, our seamstresses choose each Norman cowhide pattern so that the appliqué and the final rendering are as harmonious as possible. Our team has both creative and technical know-how that we wish to improve and perpetuate.

Principle No. 3: Preserve the environment: tanning, storage, transport, etc.

We can act on the environment at several levels. Every day, we seek to act on our raw materials, our manufacturing methods, our storage or our delivery methods. Here are some of our actions on which we work.

European and certified tanning

At PeauDeVache.com, all our skins are tanned following strict European standards . The skins are tanned in Europe. The only exception: natural sheepskins which are tanned in New Zealand, their country of origin, with the same requirements of the European Union.

For some skins, the tanning phase is even labeled. This is the case for Icelandic sheepskins that comply with the REACH standard and have received the ECOCERT label thanks to mineral tanning. Known worldwide, this ECOCERT label is a real guarantee of a responsible and quality product.

Store and ship in natural packaging

There is the product… and its packaging. We also work to reduce the environmental impact at this level as much as possible by using natural materials such as cardboard or paper .

We want 97% of our packaging to be natural by the end of 2020. Protective cushioning elements, transport packaging, adhesives, etc. We focus on every part of the package to reduce polluting plastic materials.

Choose committed carriers and offer local deliveries

Reducing the environmental impact also involves concrete actions on transport. In addition to creating a warehouse in France, we are working on the mode of transport and travel time . First action implemented: choosing committed carriers , who develop real environmental programs such as Colissimo . Second action: offering deliveries as close as possible , via networks such as Mondial Relay.

Based on these 3 principles, the PeauDeVache.com team works every day to ensure that our products are in line with our ethical wishes.

Find more information on our page dedicated to the ethics of PeauDeVache.com