[flopay]

Assalamu Alaykum,

I have read Mufti Abdur Rahman Mangera and Mufti Abdullah Patel's guidance on identifying pig leather. Sometimes, however, the leather is coated or it may not be obvious to the lay person that an item is made from pig leather.

For example, I wanted to buy a black leather trouser belt. Most belts say that they are made in china from leather or the leather is described as italian leather.

The store assistant with 4 GCSEs in drama, art etc is not able to tellwhether the leather is pig or not.

This usually means phoning or e-mailing head office back and forth several times, and even then, there is no guarantee that you will get an answer.

Sometimes it can therefore take weeks just to buy a belt, a pair of shoes, a bag etc.

Does anybody know whether belts and bags are made from pig leather and is there a QUICK and DEFINITIVE way of ascertaining the source of leather prior to purchase?

[mikefertynnz]

The store assistant with 4 GCSEs in drama, art etc is not able to tellwhether the leather is pig or not. what that got to do with anything

[SkHukV3N]

what that got to do with anything

lol...

anyway, yeah, this is a problem for me, too. Sometimes the item description says what kind of leather it is, or its printed on the item itself e.g. "calfskin". I bought my last pair of boots from Clarks (I'm in the US) and the salesman told me they only carry calfskin in the store, but I don't know how accurate that is. I looked at the grain of the leather, however, and it looked like calfskin to me, and the lining was gore-tex. Best is probably to contact the company and ask for a list of shoes that don't contain pigskin.