Over the last few weeks, we’ve explored the natural, sustainable layers that bring comfort, durability, and stability to Karta floors. From cork to wood fibre, every material we choose plays a part in shaping a surface that’s both high-performance and planet-friendly.

For Karta, creating sustainable flooring has never been about ticking boxes or following trends. We’ve long worked to reduce waste in the flooring industry, but we weren’t satisfied stopping there. Our sights were set on the next challenge: taking waste from outside our industry and giving it new life.

That challenge brought us to one of our most surprising and innovative materials: recycled leather.

From Waste to Worth

Every year, the global leather industry generates close to two billion kilos of scrap material. These scraps, which range from offcuts of hides to shavings left behind in production, are often considered too small, irregular, or impractical to reuse.

Most of this material ends up in landfill, and while leather is technically biodegradable, its journey in landfill is slow and destructive. The process, known as anaerobic decomposition, releases harmful greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide. Multiply this by billions of kilos each year, and the environmental toll becomes clear.

This is the current narrative: waste created, waste discarded. A cycle of take, use, and dispose.

At Karta, we’re rewriting that story.

Liberated from Landfill

Instead of allowing leather scraps to pile up in waste streams, we intercept them. By reclaiming offcuts and discarded leather fibres from across Europe, often sourced from the shoe industry, we’ve developed a way to give this material a second life.

These reclaimed fibres don’t simply get patched together. They’re carefully processed, combined with natural binders and vegetable oils, and pressed into strong, resilient sheets. In this new form, they take on a completely new purpose: becoming one of the most innovative layers in Karta floors.

This recycled leather layer is far from a gimmick. It plays an important structural role, adding durability and impact resistance, and helps enhance the overall stability of our wide planks. In other words, it supports performance as much as it represents progress.

But to us, this technical feature is proof of what’s possible when industries think beyond their own boundaries.

Our Industry and Beyond

The flooring industry alone cannot solve the global waste crisis, but by collaborating across sectors we can make meaningful change. Our recycled leather layer is a clear example of this mindset. By drawing material from the shoe and leather industries, we extend the value of resources that might otherwise have been lost.

It’s a practical application of circular economy design principles. Instead of seeing waste as the end of a material’s life, we see it as the beginning of something new.

Leather scraps, once destined for landfill, are transformed into something useful, long-lasting, and stylish. The outcome is twofold: less waste in the ground, and fewer raw materials pulled from the planet.

Formed for the Future

Sustainability is at the heart of Karta, but performance is never sacrificed in the process.

Our innovative recycled leather layer’s impact resistance helps our planks withstand everyday use, whether in a busy office or a high-traffic retail space. This extra layer of protection adds confidence to our wide planks, ensuring they remain stable and stylish over decades of use.

By pairing responsible design with high performance, we prove that sustainability and practicality aren’t mutually exclusive, but better together.

Rewriting the Narrative

Waste is often spoken about as an inevitable by-product of progress, but we reject that idea. Waste is not the end of the story; it’s an opportunity for reinvention.

The recycled leather layer in Karta floors is our way of rewriting the narrative. Instead of seeing billions of kilos of scraps as landfill fodder, we see them as valuable resources waiting for a second chapter.

This shift in mindset is what will move industries forward. It’s about challenging assumptions, rethinking processes, and designing with imagination as well as responsibility.

While the recycled leather layer may be hidden within our floors, it’s a powerful reminder of the change that’s possible when waste is seen differently.

Layers of Possibility

When you walk across a Karta floor, you see the surface: the detail, the finish, the design. What you don’t see are the layers beneath, each with its own story to tell. The recycled leather layer might be hidden from view, but its impact is anything but invisible.

Recycled leather is just one part of the Karta story. Each layer in our construction is carefully chosen for for how it contributes to a more sustainable future.

From cork that provides natural comfort underfoot, to wood fibre that gives planks their core strength, every material plays its role in balancing performance with environmental integrity. The recycled leather layer is simply one example of how we look beyond convention, and even beyond our own industry, to find innovative solutions.

And this is just the beginning. As we continue to push the boundaries of sustainable design, we’re committed to finding new ways of keeping valuable resources in circulation and reducing our environmental impact.

Our floors are proof that sustainability can be woven into the very fabric of a product, evidence that waste doesn’t have to be wasteful. In each floor we create a reminder that by rethinking what we discard, we can create products that are not only better for people, but also better for the planet.

Narrative Rewritten

By reclaiming what others throw away, we’re proving that flooring can be both durable and responsible, both practical and progressive.

This is the future of design: waste transformed into worth, landfill liberated, and narratives rewritten.

Tough on Waste

Our exploration of Karta’s construction doesn’t end here. In the weeks ahead, we’ll uncover the other layers that bring each floor to life, from the hidden foundations that ensure lasting performance to the finishing details that define its character.

You may have missed: What’s in a Floor? Karta’s Construction Layer by Layer: Cork and What’s in a Floor? Karta’s Construction Layer by Layer: Wood Fibre