Thanks for your interest in Chumby! We're currently researching other fit and finish materials for the chumby. At the moment it's only available in leather, but we hope to have an alternative very soon. There is no set date for release of the new casing, but please be assured that we understand your concerns and are working for a good non-animal product finish to our product.

not to get into the moral discussion, but the animals are probably used for food anyway.

As mentioned above, we're currently researching other fit and finish materials for the chumby and we hope to have an alternative to leather available soon.

Or black rubber.  Or moleskin (the kind on notebooks, not the kind on moles).  Or canvas (I guess that's pretty much what jeans/denim is, isn't it?)  Or Velcro, so you could apply your choice of covering(s).

Yeah, it's the only thing keeping me from buying one for my hippie mom.

It's real leather?  I thought it was plastic leather.  Or at the most it was bonded leather, which is made from animal leather scraps.

Zoltar doesnt understand, how chumby slater animal?

....goat is not animal

chumby is made with real honest-to-goodness *Italian* leather -- the best we could find.  We recognize that some people love that choice, others not so much.  For those others, you will have another option soon :^)

?  It's real leather.  And it comes from Italy.  And it's the nicest leather we could find.  Hold the jokes about fine "corinthian" leather :^)

I really hope they release a "classic" chumby with a leather-free option. I think the squishy chumby is adorable and the cuteness/personalization of it was what drew me in. Does anyone know if because they're releasing the chumby one, that a faux-leather chumby is a no-go?