Ethical Sourcing: What Does That Really Mean?

Ethical sourcing means being able to explain where a material came from, how it reached us and what responsibility we take along the way.

1. Opening: A word that deserves an explanation

 What do we mean when we say our leather is ethically sourced?

“Ethically sourced” is easy to write beneath a product. Explaining what it means asks more of us. Where did the animal live? Why was it culled? Who handled the hide? And what do we know about the people and processes between that landscape and our workshop?

2. First, understand the material

Before we talk about ethical sourcing, it helps to understand what we’re working with.

A hide is an animal’s skin. Tanning preserves and transforms that skin into leather, making it durable and suitable for use. When the animal’s natural hair is retained through this process, we call it hair-on-hide leather. The hair hasn’t been added; it is the animal’s original coat.

But the name only tells us what the material is. It tells us nothing about where the animal lived or how its skin entered the supply chain. Hair-on-hide can come from domesticated livestock, game ranches or wild populations.

To understand its origin, we need to ask more questions. Which animal did it come from? How did it live? Why was it harvested? And how did the hide reach our hands?

For us, that is where the conversation about ethical sourcing begins.

3. Where our Springbok and Zebra game skins come from

Why we choose to work with these skins

At Lindiwe, we work with springbok and Burchell’s zebra skins sourced through a specialist agent. Our confidence in these materials rests on understanding their origin, the circumstances in which the animals were harvested and the care taken as the skins move through the supply chain.

Species identification matters. The Burchell’s zebra we use is a plains zebra, distinct from other zebra species with different conservation and trade protections. Springbok and Burchell’s zebra are not listed under CITES, the international convention regulating trade in listed wildlife species. That distinction explains their CITES status; it does not replace our responsibility to understand how they were sourced.

We also recognise that conservation status varies across a species’ range. Healthy populations in one landscape do not mean that every population faces the same conditions. Responsible sourcing asks us to look at the place and circumstances behind the material.

What happens if a skin is never used?

A raw skin is a perishable material. Without careful preservation, it begins to deteriorate. Salting, drying or chilling can protect it before processing, while tanning transforms it into a durable material that can be worked and used over time.

Where skins are not recovered, preserved or put to use, that material can be lost. We see value in making thoughtful use of skins obtained through lawful wildlife harvesting, while recognising that the quality of the sourcing and tanning practices matters throughout.

For us, the purpose is to make that material count. We study each hide before cutting, work with its natural markings and create pieces intended for continued use. Smaller offcuts offer further possibilities, including our collaboration with Afrographic.

That is why we are comfortable working with these leathers: a commitment to understanding their origins, using them carefully and making objects worthy of the material and the hands that shape it.

4. Why wildlife populations are managed

Understanding the relationship between animals and the land

A landscape’s ability to support wildlife changes with the seasons. Rainfall influences vegetation, water availability shapes where animals gather, and movement allows herds to reach fresh grazing. Predators and other species form part of that relationship too.

Where fences restrict movement, or conditions change through drought and habitat loss, managing wildlife becomes more complex. The question extends beyond how many animals live on the land to how they interact with it—and with one another.

Wildlife managers may consider several interventions, including live capture and relocation. Culling is another possible approach, but its use does not automatically mean that a herd has grown beyond what the land can sustain. The reasons need to be understood within the particular landscape, informed by ecological assessment and monitoring.

For Lindiwe, this is an important part of understanding our materials. When skins come from population-management programmes, we need to ask what assessment informed the decision, why that intervention was chosen and how it was carried out. That understanding gives substance to the sourcing story we share.

Dan needs to tell us each time he delivers, or provide a declaration

5. Was the animal killed for its skin?

It’s a direct question, and it deserves a clear answer.

An animal bred specifically for its skin has been raised with that purpose in mind. An animal taken through a population-management programme is taken as part of a decision about managing animals within a particular landscape. These are different circumstances, and understanding which applies matters.

What happens afterwards is a separate question. A population-management cull may supply meat as well as skins and other materials. Using the meat does not, by itself, explain why the animal was harvested. Equally, using the skin does not establish that the animal was killed specifically for leather.

To explain the origin of a hide accurately, we need to understand both the reason for the harvest and how the resulting materials were used. For Lindiwe, those are questions to follow through with our sourcing agent, so the story we share reflects the material’s actual journey.

6. What makes sourcing ethical?

The questions behind our sourcing

A permit is an important part of lawful sourcing. But understanding a material asks more of us than knowing that paperwork exists.

At Lindiwe, we begin with origin. Which species are we working with, and where did the skin come from? From there, we ask why the animal was taken, what methods were used and what training and oversight supported the process. Animal welfare belongs in this conversation from the beginning.

We also ask how far the material can be traced. Can our sourcing agent follow its journey through the suppliers and tanneries involved? Where information is incomplete, what further questions do we need to ask?

That responsibility continues through processing. How does the tannery manage chemicals, water and waste? How are workers protected? And what conditions do people work under as the material moves from a raw skin to a finished piece?

These questions give practical meaning to ethical sourcing. Our responsibility is to keep asking them, seek evidence behind the answers and be clear about what we know.

lawful sourcing is part of the answer; an ethical sourcing account should also explain welfare, environmental practice and human responsibility.

7. Our responsibility continues in the workshop

Knowing where a hide comes from is the beginning. Once it reaches our studio, the responsibility becomes ours in a very practical way.

Before we cut, we take time to understand what is in front of us. Each hide has its own markings, shape and usable areas. These guide the placement of our patterns and sometimes ask us to reconsider a design. Working well with the material means recognising both its possibilities and its limits.

We want the pieces we make to be useful, durable and worth keeping. That asks us to consider how a bag will be carried, where it will experience wear and how its construction can support years of use.

The smaller pieces deserve thought too. An offcut may be too small for another bag but still hold the texture and character that drew us to the hide. Our collaboration with Afrographic has shown what can happen when those pieces meet another maker’s imagination.

None of this happens without skilled hands. The people who select, cut, stitch and finish each piece bring knowledge that deserves recognition and respect. Their judgement shapes how carefully we use the material—and the quality of what eventually leaves our studio.

Questions we are often asked

Is hair-on-hide real leather?
Yes. Hair-on-hide is genuine leather that retains the animal’s natural hair through tanning. The hair is the animal’s original coat.

Are animals bred specifically for Lindiwe’s game skins?
We source springbok and Burchell’s zebra skins through a specialist agent. To answer this accurately for each source, we ask for confirmation of how the animals were raised and why they were taken. The species or appearance of a hide alone cannot establish this.

What is a regulated culling programme?
Culling is the deliberate removal of animals through killing as part of wildlife management. A regulated programme operates within the applicable legal requirements, which vary according to the species and location. Understanding its purpose also means asking what assessment informed the decision and what oversight was in place.

Is meat also used?
It can be. A wildlife harvest may supply meat alongside skins and other materials.

How does Lindiwe check its suppliers?
We work through a specialist sourcing agent and ask questions about origin, authorization, animal welfare, traceability and tanning practices. We are introducing a delivery declaration to record the answers and supporting evidence for each batch, including any information that remains unverified.

Does buying a game-skin product directly fund conservation?
We do not currently claim that a defined portion of each purchase is paid directly to conservation. Working with materials obtained through wildlife-management operations is different from making a conservation donation. Any direct funding claim should identify who receives the money and how the contribution is calculated.