Mes: mayo 2024

Workplace safety and minimizing carbon footprint: Green Deal Leather goals

Original content by: Lederpiel

On May 16, the social partners of the European leather industry, the Cotance employers’ association and the IndustriAll-Europe syndicate, held the final conference of the Green Deal Leather project in Brussels (Belgium) after two years of work. The event attracted around a hundred attendees and marked the end of a project in which the national tanning associations of Spain (Acexpiel), Portugal (APIC), France (FFTM), Hungary (MKZS), Italy (UNIC), Germany (VDL) and Austria (FVTBSL).

The main goal of the project was to know with primary data the real situation of the leather industry in aspects so relevant to advancing the circular economy such as safety in the workplace within tanneries and the carbon footprint of leather generated by the tanning activity. In this sense, during the introduction of the conference, Gustavo González-Quijano, general secretary of Cotance, commented on some of the main conclusions of the project’s research. In relation to work accidents, González-Quijano pointed out that these decreased by 16% in two years in the countries participating in the study (Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Portugal, Hungary and Austria); that is, from 1,317 accidents in 2019 to 1,102 in 2021. It should be noted that 15% of occupational accidents in the European tanning sector occur in itinere (on the way to or from work) and that more than 90% of recorded accidents are classified as «minor» in severity. Regarding the carbon footprint of leather, the results of the studies indicated that the average emissions are 8 kg of CO2 per square meter of bovine leather produced. In this sense, the majority of the carbon footprint is produced by the chemicals used in the tanning process.

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Fast fashion is out of fashion: how leather is set to become part of the solution

Original content by: Leather Naturally

As the world grapples with how we can reduce our impact on the environment and actively limit the impacts of climate change, we sit at a vital crossroads in our collective history. Leather is well positioned to be a meaningful part of the solution.

The European Commission has launched an anti-fast fashion campaign specifically designed to educate younger consumers about the negative impacts of fast fashion and to promote the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. The campaign aims to address issues of over-production associated with fast fashion and to prioritize sustainability and longevity.

The European Union is committed to serious action as part of its 2030 Vision for Textiles the cornerstone of which is sustainable fashion – designed to have a positive impact on people and the planet.

With leather’s inherent properties of durability, reparability and longevity it represents the antithesis of fast fashion. The fact that it utilizes a by-product in order to create a versatile and premium material lends an additional benefit to its key position in the circular economy.

Increasing traceability expectations together with more and more stringent regulations have entirely shifted the modern consumer landscape. Consumers are far more educated than ever before on the provenance of the goods they purchase and the fact that the impacts of their purchasing decisions can be far-reaching.

Within this context, leather takes a by-product that would otherwise need to be disposed of (with its own environmental impacts) and using responsible, traceable and verifiable production processes, offers designers and consumers high quality products that can be repaired, re-cycled and that can last a lifetime.

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