Leather is tanned and treated in several ways. The most common are vegetable-tanned leather and chrome-tanned leather. Vegetable-Tanned Leather This method was first used by the Egyptians and the Hebrews in 400 B.C. Vegetable tanning is one of the oldest tanning methods developed for tanning leather. For this process, it uses vegetable matter, like a bark of a tree, to produce a light brown taupe color. But, the final color of the material still depends on the type of animal and the supplies used. If you want to have supple leather, then this procedure will bring it out. Chrome-Tanned Leather For this process it uses chromium salt for tanning, hence the name. Currently, this is one of the most popular methods of tanning leather. It only takes a day to complete. Also, it has fewer chances of discoloration, unlike vegetable tanning.