Billy Tannery’s ‘Fauna’ Handbag Showcases Regenerative British Leather: ‘A Groundbreaking Moment for Us’
British leather brand Billy Tannery, which operates a small-batch tannery in the Midlands, has teamed up with British Pasture Leather, known for sourcing hides from Pasture for Life-certified farms, to launch a new handbag that highlights regenerative British leather.
The ‘Fauna’ is Billy Tannery’s first handbag, combining sustainable deer suede with British Pasture Leather’s cattle leather from cattle raised on regenerative farms in the UK. This collaboration champions positive environmental and welfare practices, offering a product that can be worn as a crossbody or shoulder bag.
Designed with British Pasture Leather co-founder Alice Robinson, a graduate of the Royal College of Art Fashion Accessory course and an advocate for zero-waste in the meat industry, the bag aims to spotlight the new wave of British businesses redefining leather and hides. These businesses use certified Pasture for Life cattle from regenerative farms that increase soil carbon, improve biodiversity, and ensure high animal welfare standards.
Both brands are committed to using vegetable-tanned leather that is fully traceable to its source, celebrating “leather filled with character.” They aim to re-educate consumers on the beauty of “stories of a life well-lived,” which is showcased through natural scratches and marks that make each piece of leather unique.
The name ‘Fauna’ reinforces this link, as it refers to “animal life traced back to the god of earth and fertility.”
Commenting on the collaboration, Jack Millington, founder of Billy Tannery, said: “Launching the ‘Fauna’ is a groundbreaking moment for us in many ways. Not only is it our first handbag, but the project allowed us to work with a company we’ve admired for a long time. An exciting community is building around positive grassroots leather projects in the UK, and this collaboration with British Pasture Leather is a proud moment.”
Billy Tannery, founded in 2016, has a vertically integrated supply chain from hide to final product, offering bags, wallets, aprons, and small leather goods.
British Pasture Leather, founded in 2020 by Robinson and Sara Grady, is inspired by the belief that regenerative agriculture is a critical solution for renewing soils, stewarding ecosystems, and reforming food and fashion systems. The company aims to provide brands and designers with a new option to choose leather that delivers positive impacts for land, ecosystems, animals, people, and nature.
The Billy Tannery x British Pasture Leather ‘Fauna’ handbag, made in Somerset, England, will have an initial limited batch, priced at £585.