Our commitment to sustainability

Sustainability is at the heart of the brand. All Shrew goods are made to order or bespoke, so we only use what we need. Leather is a precious commodity and not to be wasted.

We only use full grain (the highest grade of leather) vegetable tanned leather. This means the hides are dyed with natural tannins such as tree bark and roots rather than chemicals, making veg tan leather the only sustainable choice for leather. These skins are also a by-product of the meat industry and would otherwise go into landfill.

Natural scars and marks on the hides are celebrated in the more hard-to-see areas of items to utilise as much of the skin as possible.

We only use pure linen thread for stitching and solid brass (or other recyclable metals) hardware in the vast majority of our products.

Our dust bags are made from organic or recycled cotton. Our labels and packaging are made from paper and cardboard, printed with eco inks and are all fully recyclable.

Leather offcuts are passed on to the textiles departments of local schools for students to create with so nothing goes to waste.

All items are designed, cut, handstitched and packed in our studio in Bath, England. We use UK suppliers and all leather chosen comes from family-run tanneries in the UK and Italy synonymous with authentically produced, high quality veg tanned hides.

Our handstitched items should last forever if they’re looked after. Shrew offers a lifetime guarantee on all of our leather goods and will repair leather or replace hardware should your item fall short.

If you have any questions, please see our FAQs or get in touch here.