caring for our landscape
Living and working in the stunning environment of Waternish comes with a deep sense of responsibility to protect and sustain it. At Skyeskyns, our roots run deep in the island landscape of Skye and our Waternish croft.
Our journey began with a commitment to sustainability, driven by the desire to
repurpose lamb skins that were being wasted locally. These skins, a by-product of lambs bred for meat, were otherwise destined for landfill.
Forty years later, we continue to transform this farming by-product into beautiful, handcrafted, and durable products. By upholding an age-old craft, we share our sustainable practices with younger generations and visitors to the tannery every day.
We prioritise sourcing our skins from the nearest abattoir near Inverness and selected Scottish Crofters, as well as Welsh and English farmers. This approach minimises transport miles, ensures the entire animal is utilised, and keeps economic benefits within the local community, preventing skins from being exported overseas.
WHAT WE DO
Here are some of the actions we take to bring this ethos to life and our commitment to sustainability and have implemented numerous eco-friendly practices:
Sustainable Tanning: Since 2019, we’ve transitioned from using finite mineral resources to sustainable mimosa bark for tanning. Mimosa bark is sustainably harvested, allowing us to treat all effluent on-site, compost it, and return it to the croft.
Efficient Production: Our production system is designed to recycle as much mimosa as possible, minimising waste.
Natural Effluent Treatment: In 2022, we installed reed beds to naturally clean the effluents from our tanning baths.
Woodland Project: Thanks to donations and match-funding from our Black Friday sales, we've planted 900 trees since 2022. This marks the start of our woodland project on the croft, creating a TREE-WOOL-TREE cycle.
Local Sourcing: We use skins from our local abattoir to reduce waste miles and carefully source from other sheep breeders, ensuring nothing goes to waste.
Green Energy: Both our business locations are powered by green electricity suppliers.
Zero Waste Initiatives: We repurpose offcuts from sheepskins into products and accessories, fill our cushions, or use them as insulation for our building. We offer a private tanning service for local small producers to help them close their production loops and reduce waste.
Recycling and Minimal Waste: We recycle extensively, including reusing good quality cardboard boxes from suppliers for customer orders, minimising printing, and reusing scrap paper and wrappings in our office and post room.
Eco-Friendly Packaging: Since 2018, we’ve used biodegradable plastic bags for packing fleeces. We use brown paper tape instead of plastic tape for parcels. Our postal bags are biodegradable, and we fill our cushions with sheepskin offcuts.
Electric Vehicles: We have an electric car charging point outside the tannery in Waternish and an electric van for transporting stock to our store in Portree.
Sustainable Café and Shop: Our pop-up café, YURTEA & Coffee, does not offer single-use cups, and our Portree shop use compostable/recyclable takeaway cups and source baking, coffee, and food locally.
Net Zero Goal: We aim to achieve Net Zero by 2030.
Our sustainable suppliers and products
WHO WE WORK WITH
At Skyeskyns, our love for wool and leather drives our passion for curating a range that reflects our commitment to sustainability. Our approach extends
beyond the products themselves to encompass the ethical considerations of our supply chain. We prioritise sourcing UK-made items or products crafted in
Scotland, from sweaters and scarves to throws and handbags.
We believe in partnering with smaller, like-minded businesses, many of which are family-run and share our values of quality, sustainability, and craftsmanship.
When products are sourced internationally, we ensure they are produced
ethically, with an emphasis on environmental responsibility, often working with
Fairtrade providers.
We scrutinise every step of our supply chain, from the origin of the skins and wool to the processes involved in tanning leather. Our commitment is to select excellent products that meet our stringent standards. Adopting a slow fashion philosophy, we offer beautifully crafted clothing that remains stylish and durable for years, aligning with our sustainability goals.
Our love for our products is paramount. If we don't adore a product, we simply don't stock it.
As a growing local business, we reinvest in Skye and support Scottish suppliers, contributing to sustainable employment and offering flexible working patterns within our community.
We recognise that sustainability is an ongoing journey. We
welcome your suggestions on how we can continue to enhance our practices and remain an environmentally conscious business.
