MUIRHEAD
THE REAL DEAL
As a natural product, genuine leather from Muirhead can
be the most sustainable option for aircraft seat covers
W
ith increasing awareness of
the environment, a growing
movement is concerned about
our collective impact on the environment.
There is no ‘silver bullet’ for aviation, but
making informed incremental choices
can help.
One such choice, namely which seat
coverings are chosen for a project, can
be considered a highly visible sign of an
airline’s commitment to sustainability.
Wouldn’t you prefer to use a natural
product like genuine leather over a manmade
alternative, some of which have
plastics at their core?
Leather has an enduring reputation
as a luxury option, but it can be a highly
sustainable and cost-effective choice
too. All of Muirhead’s bovine leather is
a by-product of the global meat and
dairy industries, and without leather
manufacturers making good use of those
animal hides, they would end up in landfill.
However, not all leather is as
sustainable as Muirhead’s. Animal
welfare, transport miles of the raw
materials, manufacturing techniques,
and waste management are all part
of the bigger picture.
Muirhead, part of the multi-awardwinning
Scottish Leather Group, is a global
leader in the production of sustainable
aviation leather. Typically the raw hides
that Muirhead makes use of come from
aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
144 ANNUAL SHOWCASE 2020
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tech advancement of a natural material.
With Muirhead leather, not only do
passengers enjoy increased levels of
hygiene and comfort in terms of sweat
absorption, warmth and tactility, but
there is a real sense that their chosen
airline understands the benefits that
a touch of sustainable luxury can bring
to their journey.
Catering to designers, specifiers and
seat manufacturers, Muirhead has an
in-house design and technical team
ready to match their end product to each
customer’s chosen colours, textures,
patterns, printing and embroidery options.
So popular is this service that although
Muirhead offers over 140 products from
stock, around 70% of customers opt to
collaborate to create a bespoke leather.
All these benefits are combined with
the skill, care and expertise of an
independent seventh-generation family
business that is a leader in the responsible
manufacturing of high-performance
aviation leather.
within 300 miles of the company’s base
in Glasgow, and 100% of them must meet
a strict set of welfare standards in their
production. These standards include
Muirhead’s subscription to the Animal
Welfare Council’s Five Freedoms Principle,
and its work with producers and industry
bodies to help improve transparency and
traceability in the production and supply
process.
Muirhead’s processes themselves are
industry leading. As part of the company’s
wider group, Muirhead has been part of
a multi-million-pound investment in
the industry’s only thermal energy plant
and associated water filtration plant,
drastically reducing the environmental
impact of its end product. As it stands,
data analysis following an EU Benchmark
shows that Muirhead produces a square
metre of leather using half the amount of
water of any other leather manufactured
in Europe. This has helped reduce the
company’s carbon intensity of 10.9kg
of CO2 equivalent per hide back in 2003
down to an anticipated 1.5kg for 2019.
One of Muirhead’s crowning
achievements is its continued reductions
in product weight while increasing levels
of luxury and durability, in what is a high-
1. CUSTOMERS
CAN SPECIFY A
WIDE RANGE OF
TEXTURES AND
PATTERNS
2. MUIRHEAD
CAN CREATE
ANY COLOUR
OF LEATHER.
THE COMPANY
WAS FOUNDED
IN 1840 BY
ANDREW
MUIRHEAD,
WITH A FOCUS
ON QUALITY,
INNOVATION
AND SERVICE
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FREE READER ENQUIRY SERVICE
To request more details from Muirhead,
visit www.magupdate.co.uk/paii
2
Established in
1840, Muirhead
is one of Europe’s
oldest tanneries
/aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
/paii