SOLUTION / PUBLIC SOURCE RECORD
Norskin produces sustainable leather from the sea
- Published 21 February 2023; updated 23 March 2026; estimated reading time 3 minutes. Listed as available under Fashion (Manufacturing and design) and Circular economy.
- Norskin makes leather from salmon skin, collecting, sorting and pre-treating skins from Northern Norwegian filleting and fish-farming operations. The company says it aims to use every part of harvested fish and describes the product as a substitute for conventional animal leather that can reduce fish-industry waste and emissions.
- Products include untreated “pickle” leather, treated “crust” leather and finished leather made to customer specifications. The company claims salmon-skin leather can be up to nine times stronger than conventional leather of equal thickness, due to the skin’s interlocking structure. It offers different sizes depending on salmon type and says broodstock salmon yields its largest size, closer to conventional leather dimensions.
- Environmental claims on the page: salmon farming is seven times more efficient than beef production and salmon emissions are one-sixth those of cattle. The company says its leather diverts tonnes of salmon waste and can turn skin that would otherwise be discarded into long-lived products such as handbags. It says leather products can last 10–20 years.
- Norskin says it works with certified farmers in Northern Norway and that the product is fully traceable through its lifecycle. It cites high animal-welfare standards and top marks from Seafood Watch.
- Market context includes a 2023 trend forecast that ranked sustainable fish-skin leather among the top 10 leather fashion trends. Collaborations listed: FOGG Gildeskål, shoe brand Kastel and designer Ingrid Brandth for footwear; a chair project using marine materials; and work with online grocer Oda, Huseby Gård vegetable growers and research institute Nofima on packaging made from gelatin extracted from fish scales.
- Challenge context stated by the page: cattle rearing accounts for 65% of livestock-sector emissions; fashion is attributed 8–10% of global greenhouse-gas emissions. These are article claims and not independently assessed here.
- Linked to SDG 9, Industry, innovation and infrastructure; SDG 12, Responsible consumption and production; and SDG 15, Life on land, through alternative leather, less fish waste, and reduced cattle-related land impacts.
- Contact: Catrine Kildemo, Head of Marketing, catrine@norskin.no. Phone number is behind a collapsed reveal control. Company: NORSKIN MATERIALS SALTEN AS, Trivselsveien 36, 8214 Fauske, Norway; norskin.no.