About Gusti Leder Our story - Our passion
Inspired by a journey - Made for the world
Gusti Leather was born from an idea that arose while traveling. Our founder Christian Pietsch not only wanted to create beautiful and practical products, but also to make a positive difference - for the people who make our products and for the environment that belongs to all of us.
Today we stand for handmade leather bags and accessories that are timelessly beautiful. Our designs combine tradition and modernity and tell stories from all over the world.
Our claim: Long-lasting quality, well thought-out designs and close cooperation with our producers. Each product tells its own story and impresses with its exquisite design, elegant colors and high functionality. With our passion for leather, we create products that never go out of fashion - for people who appreciate something special.
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Our Mission
Create fascinating and innovative leather products that make you look styled and keep you always on trend."
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Our Vision
"We strive to become a highly productive and effective organisation by promoting fairness and transparency in the workplace."
Our Goals
A significant portion of our sales currently come from products whose leather has been chrome-tanned. We know that this type of tanning is viewed critically. That's why we're actively committed to using more chrome-free leather in the future. We make sure that the chromium content is very low – a maximum of 0.1% of the dry weight. At the same time, we plan to focus more on vegetable-tanned leather that meets clear tanning standards.
Our second big goal is to reduce our dependence on classic online marketing strategies and instead rely more on alternative ways to reach you. We would like to be more present in more and more inner cities. A great way to strengthen our presence in different locations is through pop-up stores. These temporary shops help us to increase awareness of our brand and reach more and more customers who love leather and make it their reliable companion. By establishing ourselves more firmly in city centers, we want to create unique shopping experiences and share our philosophy around leather products even more widely with you.
Our Values
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Adaptability
Adapt to changes and respond quickly
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Organization
Maintain ethical behavior in the workplace, show punctuality, and meet commitments on time
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Communication
Promote teamwork and collaboration through clear communication
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Reliability
Maintain integrity in our professional actions
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Improvement
Promote professional growth of employees through knowledge sharing and collaboration in the workplace
Philosophy in Practice
Gusti Leather stands for transparency in production and careful handling of materials.
Leather – We only process skins from animals that are primarily kept for meat production or breeding. In this way, we continue to use a by-product and use it to produce high-quality leather items.
Transparency – Our production processes and supply chains are clearly documented. We value fair working conditions, clear standards for materials and compliance with legal requirements.
Discover our product lines
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Gusti Leder Nature
Our first brand was Gusti Leder Nature. Our collection of bags in this category consists mainly of vegetable-tanned goat leather.
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Gusti Leder Studio
The company's second product line is Gusti Leder Studio. The unique products consist mainly of buffalo and cowhide leather and are tanned using the chrome tanning process.
Gusti Leder – Online & on-site for you
Our products are available through all major online and offline channels. Through our e-commerce platforms, we offer our range directly to end customers in Europe, the UK, the USA, and many other countries worldwide.
Visit us in our stores in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands to experience our leather products up close. In addition to shopping, you can look forward to our DIY corner, where you can implement creative projects with leather pieces - design handmade unique items like keychains or small bags according to your wishes.
Christian Pietsch
CEO, Gusti Leder
You founded Gusti Leather about 14 years ago. What are you particularly proud of?
You founded Gusti Leather about 14 years ago. What are you particularly proud of?
I am proud of the team because they have managed to tackle many different topics and improve our products. And yes! That is especially important for our customers.
You visit India very often. Why do you do that?
You visit India very often. Why do you do that?
Because it is important to get a personal impression of the situation, both with our manufacturers and with our team, to meet in person.
So, your manufacturers are in India?
So, your manufacturers are in India?
Yes, in India, as well as in Italy, and we have recently added some producers in Pakistan.
Can you name at least one thing?
Can you name at least one thing?
I would say 60-70% of our sales currently come from articles that are tanned with chrome. That harms Environment, and therefore our goal for Gusti is to have chrome -free leather in the future. Although we are already 40% vegetable have tanned leather, we want to be completely chrome -free in 2024
What are your short-term goals for this year?
What are your short-term goals for this year?
Currently, we are also working on many small projects. For example, we have reduced the plastic content in our articles and eliminated plastic bags altogether. Instead, they are now shipped as paper bags. But then we learned that even paper is not sustainable. So, the best option is to receive them as pure leather without packaging. Now we are trying to coordinate this with our distribution channels.
What do you want to achieve in the next few years?
What do you want to achieve in the next few years?
I want to make Gusti less dependent on online marketing. For us, for me, it is very unsustainable to pay Google or Facebook for advertising, even though we currently have to. So I want to be more present in the city center.
Do you specifically slaughter animals for your leather, or are they materials already in use on the market? And do you have these raw materials?
Do you specifically slaughter animals for your leather, or are they materials already in use on the market? And do you have these raw materials?
No animal was killed for our leather. Not specifically for our leather. You can see that in our prices. When a company sells a handbag made of crocodile leather, such bags cost 500-600 euros because the animal was killed for its skin. We, on the other hand, use the waste from the meat industry. When we receive this waste, it allows us to offer affordable and sustainable products since leather, as a byproduct of the meat industry, can be considered sustainable.
What has been achieved so far at Gusti?
What has been achieved so far at Gusti?
I would say that the greatest we have achieved is the specialization in a niche. We really started fashion items such as backpacks and found our niche. And I am really proud of that that we have gotten into bicycle products so intensely, which I think I never officially said. But three years ago I had a pretty difficult time and found motivation in bicycles. To be successful with our bicycle items is really, yes, if you ask me, one of our great success.
What do you love most Gusti Leather generally?
What do you love most Gusti Leather generally?
I think there is not only one Gusti Lether. It has different facets. We all have our shops in which our managers and team members work every day and do their best to improve, tinker and sell. Then there are other parts of the company, for example on the logistics page, where it is about improving processes so that we can send our articles faster. We try to answer our emails faster and to repair as many items as possible in another area.
