Bentley Begins Tanning Leather in Olive Mill Wastewater

Bentley Motors is introducing its first fully organic Olive Tan Leather option this week at Monterey Car Week in California.

Basically, the leather isn’t tanned with toxic chemicals. Instead, Olive Mill Wastewater (OMW), an organic by-product of the olive oil industry, is used.

“Derived from waste water extracted during the olive pressing procedure, the tanning agent remains free of harmful metals, minerals and aldehydes. The technique requires less water than a conventional tanning process and also offers a higher concentration of renewable chemicals. The resulting organic leather is incredibly soft and worthy of the world’s most sought-after luxury car brand,” Bentley Motors said in a statement.

Bentley says it’s the first automaker to use OMW to tan leather. However, we reported in May that Skoda had already started trimming cars in leather tanned with olive tree leaves in a similar process.

Of course, leather is already organic by nature. New tanning processes like this ensure it stays that way.