5th Business

Pergamena’s Traceable Leather Program

Partnering with Farmers & Makers

**To sow the seeds of sustainability, fight against fast fashion and give buyers a verified “beginning to bag” story.**
**Pergamena’s 5th Business Traceable Program provides not just traceable material, but the story that comes with it.**

5th Business connects American cattle farmers with makers, designers and buyers looking for traceable leather with a reliable story.

How we help

At 5th Business, we’re on a mission to support farmers, reduce waste, and bridge the gap between sustainable agriculture and conscious craftsmanship. Our platform was created to ease the burden on farmers by providing new revenue streams, preventing the unnecessary waste of animal hides, and connecting them with like-minded makers and consumers who value traceability and quality.
Here’s how we make it happen:
Providing farmers with an outlet for their hides — ensuring that no part of the animal goes to waste.
Tanning those hides in-house using sustainable, responsible methods that honor both the animal and the environment.
Returning sellable goods to farmers through our network of highly skilled artisans and makers.
Creating space for farmers to connect with potential customers, designers, and other partners through our platform.
Together, we’re building a more sustainable, traceable future for American leather — from farm to finished product.
Click Here to Learn more.
At 5th Business, we understand the challenges of being a maker in a world dominated by fast fashion and disposable trends. You create with intention, but sourcing ethical materials, building connections, and communicating the story behind your craft can be time-consuming and overwhelming. That’s where we come in.
Here’s how we support makers:
Providing access to small-batch, fully traceable leather — ethically sourced and sustainably tanned, so you can focus on creating, not sourcing.
Offering beautifully crafted content — including photos, videos, and a certificate of authenticity — to help tell your customers the “why” behind your work.
Building long-term connections with farmers and other like-minded makers, creating new opportunities, and strengthening your sustainable identity.
Helping you translate your passion into impact — we provide the resources, relationships, and context to showcase your values and commitment to responsible craftsmanship.
Together, we’re creating a more intentional future — where quality, transparency, and care are at the heart of every product.
Click Here to see what Traceable material we currently have for sale.
Today’s conscientious consumers are seeking more than mass-produced, brand-name goods — they want products with meaning, quality, and a connection to the people behind them. But finding truly traceable, sustainable items isn’t easy in a world filled with greenwashing and disposable fashion.
Here’s how 5th Business supports buyers:
Connecting you to the new American luxury — products rooted in the ingenuity, skilled labor, and passion of American farmers and makers.
Providing traceable, verifiable stories — each product comes with a “Beginning to Bag” journey, so you know exactly where it came from, who made it, and how it was crafted.
Ensuring accountability — with customized farm and maker information for every batch, turning words on a tag into a transparent, trustworthy experience.
Rebuilding the fabric of connection — when you buy a product through 5th Business, you’re directly supporting farms, makers, and sustainable practices, weaving yourself into their success story.
At 5th Business, we believe luxury is more than a fashion statement — it’s a commitment to community. Our products don’t just look good; they represent care, accountability, and a shared respect for the people, animals, and land behind them. Together, we can make a bigger statement with every purchase.

Process Overview

Farmers

Step 1- Check out the Traceable Product Page to read more about our program, the products you can get and the connections you can make.

Step 2- Reach out with any questions or complete our sign-up form and a member of our production team will reach out to schedule a consultation.

Step 3- Work with our production staff as they guide you through properly preparing and shipping your hides to us.

Step 4 - While we tan your hides and handcraft your farm’s products, fill out your farm’s profile for our traceable leather portal.

Step 5- You’ll receive your leather goods with a certificate of traceability and have full access to our traceable leather portal for you and your customers.

Makers

Step 1- Check out our Traceable Material for Sale and Complete our Makers Sign-Up Form

Step 2- Put together your maker’s profile and check out our “20 sq. ft. Artist Challenge”

Step 3- Check out our partner farms and designers

Step 4- Become part of our growing community of farmers, artisans, designers and makers all striving for a more transparent supply chain.

Buyers

Step 1- Sign up for more information and follow us on Instagram & Facebook

Step 2- Check out some of our incredible designers

step 3- Check out our partner farms.

The 20 Square Foot Challenge

As part of each Farm Package, 5th Business sets aside one side for something special. Each farm has the option to have their side sent back to them untouched or to participate in the 20 sq ft Challenge. This gives farmers the option to collaborate with an artist from our network to create a unique, custom product.

The possibilities are endless:

Create a personal keepsake or heirloom piece

Reupholster furniture with meaningful value

Craft unique gifts for friends and family

Test new custom products for your market

This option not only provides farms with a chance to create something memorable, but it also supports small-batch artists by offering more work opportunities. It’s a way to explore collaborations and test new ideas without committing to large production runs.

While 5th Business guarantees the quality of both the leather and the artists we work with, all costs, payments, and project details are handled directly between the farmer and artist. We simply provide the platform to bring these connections to life.

“Those roles which, being neither those of Hero nor Heroine, Confidante nor Villain, but which were none the less essential to bring about the Recognition or the denouement were called the Fifth Business.”

— - Robertson Davies

5Th Business traceable leather Products for Farms

Your hard work…

**shouldn’t go in the trash.**

Start your Farm Traceable Products Journey *CLICK HERE*

$1,500.00

“Pergamena’s family tannery, an innovative cost sharing model, and 5th’s Traceable platform allow us to lower costs and solve many problems that intentional farms and makers have run into when working to produce traceable goods since the industrial revolution began.”

— Liv Virta-Meyer

How Does It All Work?

A farmer sends in FIVE (5) cows. Pergamena returns their own hides crafted into leather and leather goods for the farm to sell.

Here’s the nitty gritty: Each farm is responsible for collecting, salting and delivering the hides to Pergamena. Pergamena marks each hide with the farm code and divides each cow into two (2) sides, yielding a grand total of 10 cow sides per farm. (When you think “Side”, think “Half-O-Hide.”) From here on, the process deals with cow sides, with each cow side being around 17-20 square feet in area. After the tasks of tanning, dying and finishing, the leather is done; your farm's material is sent along four paths.

Farm Traceable Products. Some of your sides are sent to be made into shelf stable products for you to sell. Pergamena offers 8 products options. The potential ROI for each product is listed. Additional products are created from material like leather splits and offcuts that typically are wasted in mass production. This also adds to your ROI. We expect to deliver at least a 20% ROI though we cannot guarantee it, of course.

“20sq ft challenge.” Each farm will get one side of leather returned to them for them to sell as leather or to use for our 20 square foot challenge. We partner with amazing artists (and we’re always looking for more) who have the creative vision to guide you in the creation of a unique product made especially for you. Farmers can pick an artist or project from our maker’s database. This connects small farmers and small makers to create unique items, sentimental projects or even explore new product lines to collaborate on. Additional cost is involved and paid directly to the artist.

Our Farm Traceable Product Maker. Some sides of traceable leather are given to our local product maker. This helps to offset the cost of having goods created by a trusted source.

Intentional Makers. Pergamena then offers some of your sides (with a certificate of authenticity along with the bio of your farm) to makers, which allows makers to collaborate with farmers to tell the true story from beginning to bag. These additional sales significantly lower the cost that you pay to have material tanned and products made. A portion of these sales are sent back to the farmer. This means we are incentivized to sell your hides, and you are rewarded when your hides sell.

The Journey Starts Here

At Pergamena we are here to help turn your farm’s hides into leather goods that not only add to your bottom line but tell your farm’s story. Veg tanning and crafting high quality goods is not cheap but using a cost sharing method, we can help break the barriers for small batch production.

5th Business Five Cows: (offered in multiples of 5 up to 40)

Four (4) cow sides worth of the products of your choice.
One (1) side worth of leather to use for the “20 sq ft Challenge" or to keep.
Certificate of authenticity, a QR code for customers to trace all products back to your farm, a farm listing on our website and access to all marketing materials on our website.

Total buy in: $3,000

Add More Merch: (offered in multiples of 5 up to 40)

Six (6) cow sides worth of the products of your choice.
Certificate of authenticity, a QR code for customers to trace all products back to your farm, a farm listing on our website and access to all marketing materials on our website.

Total buy in: $3,500

Leather Only: (offered in multiples of 5 up to 40)

Ten (10) Cow sides of leather.
Authenticated Farm ID code

Total buy in: $2,500

If you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to reach out by clicking the “Custom Materials Consultation” button at the bottom of the page. —The Team at Pergamena

Farm Traceable Product Close up

Listed with each product is an estimated sale price, these prices are based on the market for generic leather goods of similar quality and kind. Our recommended retail price is used to ensure we have a positive ROI. It is only a suggestion, and we are confident that paired with your farm’s story these products could sell for more than the suggested price. We have priced these items not with their intrinsic value in mind, but at what an average consumer would think to spend on a quality material item. For example, suggested retail for the belt is $60. We hope that you agree this could be a wonderful partnership.

Wallets

This simple yet elegant design has compartments for bills and multiple cards. Made from a mix of veg tanned grain leather and suede, this wallet will age and patina beautifully.

We estimate each wallet could sell for $85.

Card Holders

Smaller than our wallet design, this holder has multiple compartments, including a large center pocket to hold a couple of cards and some cash, and still fits perfectly in your pocket or a small purse.

We estimate that each cardholder could sell for $45.

Belts

Our traceable belt is made from a single piece of high quality veg tanned leather and sturdy yet elegant hardware. Belts are perfect as value added goods, gifts, or branding for your farm.

We estimate that each belt could sell for $60.

Dog Collars and Leashes

Like our farm traceable belts, our pet collars and leashes are made from a single solid piece of veg, tanned leather with sturdy hardware. Unlike our belts, these products
have been tested for approval by our pets and not by our friends and families.

We estimate that dog leads could sell for $65 and dog collars could sell for $50.

Journal Covers

One of our favorite products is the journal cover. We hope this journal inspires you to write —and to show it off— as much as it does us. It comes complete with multiple pockets for pens or pencils and a zippered pouch. Farms have the option to receive these journal covers alone, or with a blank journal insert for an additional charge, courtesy of our partners at Paper and Ink Arts.

We estimate that that each cover could sell for $95.

Storage Roll

Another of our favorite products, our portable storage roll, is not just beautiful but incredibly multi-functional. It has multiple pockets to store or transport almost anything: tools, kitchen knives, art supplies, makeup, or even a pipe and its accouterments. The zipper pocket makes sure anything small has a place too.

We estimate that each roll could sell for $95.

Pouches

These cinch bags are made from the splits of your farm’s traceable leather. “Splits” is the term for material created when turning thick leather into thin leather. By taking a material that's normally discarded by mass producers and using a little bit of old school ingenuity, we can create another value-added product for farms to sell. The pouches are perfect for everything from memorable gift bags to a place to store little treasures, like cool rocks!

We estimate that each pouch could sell for $30.

Keychains

These keychains are made from what’s left after we cut all the other products out of your farm’s traceable grain leather. We take a material that's normally discarded by mass producers and create another value-added product. We are committed to give you as much margin for error and opportunity for success as possible.

We estimate that each keychain could be sold for $10.

Color and Finish Options

Our Traceable products come in four color options. These colors are a mix of classic and vibrant and are sure to please.

All of our traceable hides are milled for added softness and finished using a natural process involving heat and pressure called “Hot Rolling.” This technique uses the naturally occurring oils that are not lost in veg tanning, to polish the hide and add a layer of protection.

Giving your material a sophisticated but rustic look.