Sustainability is a core value for ATP Atelier. It has been since day one. The creative director Maj-La Pizzelli realized from the beginning that nobody was focusing on high quality leather goods. So from the beginning, her mission was to make the concept of luxury smart and not redundant.
Their first ever shoe and now majority of ATP Atelier’s leather pieces are made in vegetable tanned vacchetta. This material is biodegradable. In addition, vegetable-tanned leather does not contain any toxic substances such as nickel or PCP. Another material they use for a great amount of their products is nappa leather. The process is non-polluting and has a very low impact on the environment, because 98% of the water used is recycled.
The reason ATP Atelier works with leather rather than vegan alternatives is because leather is a durable material in comparison to vegan alternatives. Leather lasts longer and promotes a slow fashion cycle. At first glance it might look like vegan options are more sustainable, but ATP Atelier is of the opinion that it’s the exact opposite. One can wear products made out of leather for a long period of time and on top of that it looks and feels great. Vegan alternatives on the other hand are oil based which is damaging to the environment.
To keep a sustainable standpoint, ATP Atelier works with many of the same lasts and shapes, updating them slightly from season to season. They want their pieces to feel relevant for many years to come, rather than a short term trend. Physically and aesthetically the pieces last longer that way.