We love sheepskin and all the good things it bring. In particular, we love the natural product and sustainability. The sheepskin we sell at Nordic Sheep are all leftovers from the meat industry.

From the meat industry all over the world, there is naturally a lot of leftovers skin, and these skins should not be thrown away. At least we don't have to spend resources on destroying them. Instead, we think it is much better, both for us and for the nature, to buy up these leftovers from production and process the skins so that they can be used for something else.

When the skins come directly from the meat production

When the skins are selected from the leftovers, from the various meat productions around the world, they go through a process called tanning.

Our Merino sheepskins are tanned in China and our other skins, such as the Icelandic skins, are tanned in Poland. The procedure is the same, but in this article we take you through the process and how they do it in China.

The skins are tanned under very strict conditions. China is a pioneer in the production and processing of sheepskins and they do not compromise with the process when it comes to the quality of the tanning, the use of chemicals, labour relations and environmental impact. A sheepskin tanned in China is therefore guaranteed to be a product you can enjoy at home with a clear conscience.

 

Tests, tanning and process

In addition to the fact that our sheepskins are tanned in China, we ourselves carry out tests of the skins we receive in relation to the EU regulations on chemical content, and we always conclude that the skins are far below the EU limit, as all tests shows 'Non Detected ' – meaning that there are no chemicals on the skins. In this test, hundreds of different chemicals are tested.

When a skin is tanned, it means that you remove all the remains from the slaughter, so that the skin side becomes completely clean and then they treat the skin so it becomes the soft and beautiful sheepskin we all know.

We will now take you through the process behind the tanning, so you get an idea on how your sheepskin is treated before you get it in your living room.

• Before the sheepskins arrive in China, where they are being tanned, they are soaked in salt (sodium chloride - the same kind you use at home) which breaks down the biological organisms on the skin so the skins does not rot.
  
  
• After the trip to China, the sheepskins are often completely dry due to the salts and the hot climate. The skins are therefore placed in warm soapy water. This soapy water is without chemicals, and just soap water like we use in our home everyday.
  
  
• When the skins have been in the soapy water, they are picked up one by one and the skins are inspected for holes, defects or other things.
  
  
• When they have found all the best skins, they remove the last remnants of meat that could be on the skins. This is done in a machine where the sheepskin is passed around a cylinder that moves the skin around so that the knife can carefully scrape the skin side so that it becomes very soft and smooth.
  
  
• After the sheepskin has been washed in cold water, it is time for another round of mechanical removal of meat residues. This is done to make sure that no residue remains, so that the leather side is completely clean.
  
  
• When the skins are to be dyed, they start by putting them in what is called formid acid (a preservative) and then they are treated in Aluminium. The most important thing when the skin is being tanned is aluminum. In relation to dyeing, the aluminum is used to bind the colour to the wool fibres.
  
  The colours we use are completely ordinary wool dye products, which you can also buy for home use, if you want to dye a wool sweater, or something else. These colour products are called; Sella wool Blue E, Sella wool Black E, Sella wool Red E and Sella wool Yellow E. After dyeing, there are no chemicals in the product.
  
  
• When the skins has been dyed, it goes into a drying machine, where it is centrifuged so that all excess water is removed.
  
  
• After the drying machine, the skins are hung up to dry in a room with light and warm air. The skins are also tumbled in a barrel to make the sheepskin soft and shiny. When the skins are dry and soft, they pull on the skin and make it even more flexible and soft.
  
  
• The sheepskins is then run through a machine around a hot metal cylinder, which induces the ultimate softness in the fur.
  
  
• The final step in the tanning process is to cut the sheepskins to fit within some specific measurements they may need.

It is a long process to tan a sheepskin and it is therefore important that it is done with great consideration for the environment. That is why we have ensured that the sheepskins you buy from Nordicsheep are tanned in China.

The price and quality

We understand that you may wonder about the prices, as price and quality are often linked. But even though our merino sheepskins are relatively cheap, they are still tanned and processed in China, as described above. They are leftovers from the meat industry, which have been carefully selected and then tanned without the use of chemicals or anything else in China. The best place in the world to tan sheepskins are China.

The low price of the sheepskins is due in all its simplicity to the fact that the skins can have a seam on the skin side, because the sheepskins maybe are sewn together after tanning. When they check the skins for holes and damage, it may happen that they have to cut a part of the skin off. Our merino sheepskins are therefore skins that consist of several skin scraps that have been sewn together, so that these skins are not wasted either.

So even if the price is low, it does not mean that the quality is poor. You can safely buy a merino lambskin from Nordicsheep and enjoy the fact that you are contributing to reducing waste in the production of sheepskin.

 

Sheep welfare and living conditions

We only purchase sheepskins from New Zealand, Iceland, Australia, USA, Austria, England etc. The reason why we only buy sheepskins from the listed countries is that these countries have certain laws and regulations that the sheep breeders must live up to. With this, we are sure that it has been ensured that the sheeps have had a good life. We do not buy sheepskins from countries that do not have laws and regulations that protect the rights of animals.

Most of our sheepskins come from New Zealand, where the sheeps are out all year round on the soft, beautiful grass hills. In the coldest areas of New Zealand, the animals get supplementary food in the winter, but otherwise they live off nature.

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