Polestar: 'Vegan' doesn't mean 'sustainable' when it comes to interior design

Polestar's head of colours and materials says the Swedish brand won't be ditching animal-derived leathers any time soon, suggesting many 'vegan' upholsteries aren't all that sustainable.

Speaking with CarExpert at the international media launch of the new Polestar 4 SUV, head of C&M (colour and material) design at Polestar Cars, Maria Uggla, argued the brand's sustainably sourced leather options are better for the environment than some plastic and crude oil-derived animal-free alternatives.

"I think it's not the customer who demands it," Ms Uggla said, addressing whether Polestar keeping leather on the menu was consumer-led or company-led.

"I think that we took a stance at the time when all OEM left leather, because I felt at that time it was a misconception, believing that being vegan and being sustainable is the same thing, and we didn't really see any alternative to the leather, and I mean, doing a vegan upholstery is plastic.

"It's either polyurethane or it's PVC, but it's plastic, and you have it mostly produced by using crude oil, and that you pump up and produce, and then instead of using the waste material from the food industry, and throw all hides away to landfill, which they would be used for if we don't use them – it doesn't make sense."

Ms Uggla joked that she believes she was part of a native tribe in a previous life, as her strong stance on the sustainable use of animal products and by-products aligns with that of the Native Americans.

"All native people knows that that of respect for an animal, you use everything, and so what was super important for us was that we made sure that the animals are best treated, and we have the animal welfare, which means that they fulfil all five freedoms," Ms Uggla said.

"We have the gold certificate from the leather working group, we have the traceability down to farm level, the cattle comes from A and B region, meaning that they come only from Scotland and some from from Denmark, and we are chrome-free, and we want to make this old exquisite waste material.

"We would like to keep it as long as we feel that it serves its purpose, but of course we are looking into alternatives all the time. And I mean we have animal-free interior [options] for all our models.

"So for all for all vegan customers we have animal-free interiors, and we have made the best we could do with our vegan leather, we have done, and that is this mass balancing process for bio-attributed vinyl.

"We work together with a supplier called Inovyn, and Inovyn they provide the PVC, and we have a mass balance process where they take instead of crude oil for the crackers, we have biomethanol from the forest industry in Finland," Ms Uggla added.

Polestar's C&M lead's comments come at a time when many manufacturers – particularly the Europeans – are increasingly offering animal-free interior upholsteries as an enviro-conscious measure, in place of natural leathers.

For example, BMW and Mercedes-Benz offer a range of man-made leather-look upholsteries across their respective lineups, while the likes of Polestar are offering premium textile knits.

While not completely animal-free, wool-based materials are also becoming more popular.

Polestar currently offers Bridge of Weir Nappa leather as an upgrade option across its lineup, costing anywhere between $4000 and $12,400 depending on the nameplate.

While a pricey upgrade over the standard non-leather trims, the Nappa upgrade packages normally combine the welfare-secured upholstery with intricate perforations and seat ventilation up front, as well as natural wood interior decor.

Stay tuned to CarExpert for our international first drive review of the 2027 Polestar 4 SUV on 27 October.

MORE: Explore the Polestar 4 showroom