New Green Deal Leather Project

Content published by: COTANCE

On 9 September 2022, COTANCE and industriAll Europe held the kick-off meeting of their new social dialogue project ’Towards Zero Adverse Impact of the European Leather Industry – GREEN DEAL LEATHER’.

The European Green Deal, the Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) and the EU Industrial Strategy have identified the textiles ecosystem, including the leather industry, as a priority sector in which the EU can pave the way towards a socially fairer, carbon neutral, circular economy. An EU Strategy for textiles will support it in this transition, repairing the short-term damage from the Covid-19 crisis in a way that also invests in the long-term future of the ecosystem.

Against this EU policy background, the leather sector’s social partners, COTANCE and industriAll Europe, agree that they must further invest in protecting jobs in the leather sector and creating new ones by driving competitive sustainability and building a fairer, greener and more resilient European tanning industry. They will address key issues identified in their 2016 Joint Manifest and subsequent Roadmap towards 2025 (Joint Multiannual Work Programme) in a series of social dialogue projects.

The latest of these projects will address two key issues in the tanning sector: (1) safety at the workplace and (2) the carbon footprint of leather. The project partners will collect the necessary data on both topics through surveys and official information, as well as interviews and other appropriate channels, to provide the sector’s operators and stakeholders with intelligence on both project strands.

The initiative, implemented in 7 countries covering over 80% of the sector’s companies and workers, will be developed through social dialogue. Two international workshops will be organised on the selected topics, printed and video material will be disseminated in a dedicated EU-wide campaign, and a Final Conference, scheduled in Brussels in 2024, will conclude the project, with a presentation of the results.

You can access the original post HERE.

European tanners, an example in the use of water

Content published by: Lederpiel

One of the main accusations that is usually made against the tanning industry by its detractors is the intensive use of a resource as scarce and precious as water. To produce leather, abundant water resources are required, mainly to clean animal skins of mud, manure and hair. However, it is not usually taken into account that the leather industry is one of the manufacturing industries that has made the largest investments in recent years to purify its effluents and give a new use to the water used.

In particular, the European leather sector is a pioneer in the application of innovative practices for the recovery of its effluents. As the Confederation of National Associations of Tanners of the European Community (Cotance) points out in its latest statement released in collaboration with the Spanish Tanning Association (Acexpiel), the environmental practices of the European tanning industry are «accredited by well-known audits in the sewage treatment». According to Cotance, “in Europe, wastewater from tanneries is treated under very demanding parameters. Its effluent treatment plants demonstrate great technical excellence.”

An example of this is the Italian plant for the treatment of effluents from the clusters of tanneries in Tuscany, Veneto or Campania, which has become an international benchmark for the management and treatment of water in industrial districts of tanneries. Another example is the Portuguese tanning district of Alcanena, which separately collects baths from partner tanneries to recycle residual tanning agents. In Spain, we have the example of the Igualadina de Puració i Recuperació treatment plant, which treats the water from twenty-eight tanneries in Igualada (Barcelona), as well as part of the local urban wastewater and that from other industries. At the end of an innovative biological system, water is obtained in conditions comparable to domestic wastewater, which guarantees an adequate return to the environment. Splenda Quality Leather is one of these tanneries.

Due to its unique characteristics, this treatment plant in Igualada has been the object of international recognition and one of the cases highlighted by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), as well as by the Global Water Intelligence report, a benchmark for the industry of the water.

As Cotance concludes, European tanners are “perfectly aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 (clean water and sanitation)”, and stresses that they are not stopping in their pursuit of “higher sustainability standards”.

You can access the original post HERE.

Sustainable leather campaign takes to COP26

Content published by: ChooseRealLeather

Leather industry organisations from across the world have called on the UN Climate Change Conference Forum 2026 (COP26), which will be held in Glasgow, to recognise the role that leather and other natural fibres can play in tackling climate change. The Leather and Hide Council of America (L&HCA) and Leather Naturally from the UK are among the organisations that have adopted a manifesto campaigning for a natural fibre route to sustainability.

The document highlights the role natural materials can play to limit climate impacts of consumer materials, especially when compared to synthetic, fossil fuel-based competitor materials.

Leather Manifesto

The manifesto states: “The world needs materials that are sustainable, renewable, readily disposable and most importantly, do not add to the burden of atmospheric carbon.

“Natural fibres, such as leather, cotton, wool, mohair, alpaca, silk, hemp and mycelium, are part of the biogenic carbon cycle and as such are comprised of carbon that has been in the atmosphere for a millennia.”

“These readily available raw materials, when ethically and properly produced, are an important replacement for fossil fuels, reducing the need for its extraction and retaining more carbon in the ground.”

Biodegradable Solution

“Furthermore, at the end of life, properly produced natural materials will biodegrade, limiting their impact and mitigating harmful emissions, such as microplastic pollution, associated with the synthetic materials that they replace». Read the full text of the manifesto here.

You can access the original post HERE.

 

Towards a real green transition of the European TCLF industries

Content published by: LederPiel

The future of the European textile, apparel, leather and footwear industries (known by the acronym TCLF) is inevitably going to be increasingly green and digital. This was the main conclusion reached at the meeting held on July 4 in Brussels (Belgium) between representatives of the European employers’ associations for footwear (CEC), tanning (Cotance), textiles (Euratex) and the European union IndustriAll with members of the European Commission.

The meeting resulted in a joint declaration requesting more aid from the European Union so that the TCLF sectors can be «more resilient, sustainable and digital» and be able to «promote sustainable production and consumption in the internal market of Europe». The goal is to ensure that by 2030 all textile, footwear and leather products marketed in the European Union are «durable and recyclable». In addition, this strategy includes new design requirements for textile and leather products, clearer product information and a digital product passport, all of which are measures to address the green transition and discourage the destruction of unsold or returned items.

For their part, the TCLF consortium partners asked the European Commission for more funding, legal incentives and support to help the European textile, footwear and leather sectors decarbonise their production and become more circular, as well as initiatives to ensure that workers have adequate training for the future.

For his part, the general secretary of Cotance, Gustavo González-Quijano, points out that “leather is the best example of a circular economy product, since it is the result of recycling an unavoidable waste from meat production. In doing so, European tanners create wealth and jobs for the entire value chain. The green transition? It is our DNA! And leather can and will be even more sustainable, but this must be done hand in hand with our regulators and stakeholders.”

You can access the original post HERE.

A successful green and digital transition of the EU textiles, clothing, leather, and footwear industries

Content published by: COTANCE

The European social partners of the  textiles, clothing, leather, and footwear (TCLF) industries agree joint demands to ensure that the textiles ecosystem can become more resilient, sustainable, and digital as set out in the EU textiles strategy. This involves tackling strategic dependencies, appropriate funding, incentives and support to help the European TCLF sectors decarbonise their production and become more circular, and initiatives to ensure that workers have the right skills for the future.

Employers’ and workers’ representatives for the European TCLF sectors, CEC, Cotance, Euratex and industriAll Europe recently met with the European Commission to discuss how to ensure a successful green and digital transition of the EU Textiles Ecosystem. During the meeting, national and European social partners adopted a JOINT STATEMENT setting out clear demands for the TCLF sectors to become more resilient, sustainable, and digital.

The joint statement follows the European Commission’s EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles and the launch of co-creation process towards a transition pathway for a more resilient, sustainable and digital textiles ecosystem (TCLF sectors). The transition pathway recognises the need to build a resilient textiles ecosystem, based on innovation and global competitiveness, noting that the European TCLF sectors face tough global competition, and that measures are needed to encourage sustainable production and consumption in Europe’s internal market.

The strategy aims to ensure that by 2030, the ecosystem’s products placed on the EU market are long-lived and recyclable, while the industry moves from a linear to a circular business model. Initiatives in the strategy include new design requirements for textiles and leather products under the Eco-design for Sustainable Products Initiative, clearer information on products and a Digital Product Passport, measures to tackle greenwashing, and action to discourage the destruction of unsold or returned articles.

As a response, the TCLF social partners have agreed on specific joint demands to ensure that the ecosystem can become more resilient, sustainable, and digital. These include decisive action by Member States and the EU to tackle strategic dependencies, appropriate funding, sound metrics, legal incentives and support to help the European TCLF sectors decarbonise their production and become more circular, and initiatives to ensure that workers have the right skills for the future.

Gustavo Gonzalez-Quijano, Secretary General of Cotance, said that “Leather is the best example of a circular economy product, as it is the result of recycling an unavoidable residue of meat production. In doing so, European tanners create wealth and jobs for an entire value chain! The “Green Transition”? It’s our DNA! And leather can and will become even more sustainable, but this needs to be done hand in hand with our regulators and stakeholders.”

The European TCLF social partners agreed to continue their good cooperation including during the co-creation process towards a transition pathway for a more resilient, sustainable and digital textiles ecosystem (TCLF sectors) noting the importance of quality sectoral social dialogue

You can read the original post HERE.

Are animals killed for leather?

Content published by: Leather Naturally

Are animals killed for leather? The answer is simple: no, hides come from animals raised for food. This accounts for 99% of the world’s leather.

Leather is a natural by-product

The main sources of animal hides are cattle – 69%; sheep – 13%; goats – 11%, and pigs – 6%. Their skins are a valuable global resource and, thanks to tanners’ and manufacturers’ skills and knowledge, they ensure this versatile material does not end up in landfill. Current estimates put this at a saving of 7.3 million tonnes for cattle hides alone and around 10 million tonnes in total per year. That is a lot of potential waste being transformed into a versatile, usable material.

Leather is versatile

Leather manufacturers upcycle this raw material and exploit its tremendous versatility. Depending on the source of the hide or skin and finish used, they can create sumptuous-yet-tough footwear, handbags and clothing, and durable-yet-comfortable car and aviation seating and furniture. Leather can be made hard enough for the sole of shoes or soft enough for the finest gloves.

Leather is long lived

The leather from one animal can provide many years’ worth of practical applications and pleasure. Well cared for with oils, creams and pigments products, repaired and reused, leather items will last for decades. Think of all the vintage leather jackets, shoes and bags; libraries lined with ancient leather-bound books, and hardwearing saddles and bridles used by generations.

Leather is Biodegradable

Leather is biodegradable; it decomposes on the environment in 25 to 45 years. Plastics take hundreds of years to biodegrade and produce microplastics that are damaging to the environment.

Leather is sustainable

Sustainability is one of leather’s really strong suits. Not only does the leather industry upcycle raw materials from the food industry, not only is it a renewable and recyclable resource, but its full lifecycle has a low carbon and water footprint.

Leather supports local economies

Its manufacture helps support economies across the world where tanning and associated industries are vital elements in creating livelihoods that help to pull millions of people out of poverty.

Leather is responsibly governed

Nearly every country in the world makes leather and the vast majority do so in a transparent, responsible manner. The chemical used in leather production are highly regulated. The Leather Working Group (LWG) is a global organization that has developed an environmental audit standard to help everyone understand how their leather was made.
Leather Naturally speaks for the responsibly produced leather around the world in that its processes are highly regulated, governance is enforced and inspected, and standards have been striven for, achieved – and maintained.

For more information read the FAQ on The Sustainability of Leather

You can read the original content HERE.

Water, waste and a wish for the future

Content published by: Leather International

Over the years, the industrial activity of leather tanning has been criticised for its contribution to environmental pollution, particularly when it comes to the contamination of water bodies. Tanneries consume large amounts of water that is used with strongly alkaline and highly acidic mixtures, chromium salts and sulphides in the tanning process, so the potential for toxic substances to leak into rivers has drawn the eye of industry critics.

The treatment of hides involves many aqueous steps with discontinuous discharges, generating high volumes of effluents that require costly and time-consuming treatment to satisfy emission standards laid down by national and international legislation.

Furthermore, the amount of water used in the tanning process has also drawn criticism. Water is, after all, a precious resource and, in some parts of the world, a scarce commodity. Consequently, industry players have a shared obligation not to take the availability of clean water for granted.

Although the industry has made great efforts to reduce water consumption and prevent the discharge of harmful effluents into the water supply, its image is still tarnished in the eyes of some observers by its past failures to manage water usage in an sustainable manner. Now, it is time for public perception to catch up with how the industry is changing.

A footprint in the water

In a tannery, the many phases of conditioning and preparing the hide for tanning, as well as the transportation and fixation of tanning substances, require water. The beamhouse process where hides are made ready for tanning is, by far, the most intense process in terms of water usage. A 2019 study found that during the beamhouse process, between 7m3 and 25m3 of water is used per tonne of hides, and between 1m3 and 3m3 is used in the tanning process.

In most instances, fresh water is used for the diffusion of chemical products and the extraction of undesirable materials from the hide. The result is a significant drain on local fresh water resources. The industry’s water footprint is large, even if one disregards the water used in the raising of cattle. It is estimated that worldwide water consumption in the leather industry is around 400 billion litres annually.

If the industry is serious about improving resource efficiency, both for reasons of environmental management and cost reduction, then water use must be near the top of the list of priorities.

A tannery’s water footprint is the total amount of direct and indirect water use involved in its processes. It comprises many different elements, starting with the blue water footprint, which represents the amount of surface water and groundwater required by the tannery. Next, there is the green water footprint, which is the amount of rainwater required, and then the grey water footprint, which represents the amount of freshwater required to mix and dilute pollutants enough to maintain water quality according to certain standards.

Once measured, all of these factors can be managed. It is incumbent on the industry to apply best practice technologies and implement effective water management techniques, but this can only be done effectively when the scale and detail of the problem are fully understood.

Indeed, a 2019 paper in the Journal of Environmental Management, entitled ‘Water reuse: An alternative to minimise the environmental impact on the leather industry’, highlighted some of the systems that can help tanneries reduce the amount of wastewater they produce that contains high concentrations of contaminants and reduce the total amount of water used in the tanning process.

Among these, the overriding concept is the reuse of wastewater. The key concern is the release of the pollutant chromium into the environment, and reuse tests on both pilot schemes and an industrial scale have shown that reuse techniques, when properly evaluated, can both reduce water demand and minimise the disposal of the wastewater with chromium.

Reduce, recycle, reuse

For some tanners, the results of an intense focus on water usage and contamination have yielded impressive results and fostered innovative approaches to resource use. Among them is ECCO Leather, which operates four tanneries and two beamhouses, as well as wastewater treatment facilities in all of its tanneries to ensure that we release only clean water back into the environment.

As one of the steps in the tanning process, ECCO has developed DriTan, which uses the moisture already present in the hides. With results that are indistinguishable from traditionally tanned leather in terms of quality, characteristics, stability and lead-time, DriTan results in major savings on water, while considerably minimising the discharge of wastewater and the use of chemicals.

At its tannery in the Netherlands alone, ECCO is set to eliminate 600t of sludge per year from its effluent, which translates into 40 truckloads of sludge deposited in landfills per year.

Will tanning eliminate water for good?

ECCO sees DriTan as the first real step towards water-free leather manufacturing. The history of leather tanning goes back around 10,000 years and the process has always involved water, so it may seem inconceivable to some that water-free tanning could be possible. Nevertheless, technologies are emerging that could break the paradigm and revolutionise the industry to the point where we can now seriously ask whether there will one day be a way to tan leather without the use of water.

DriTan only impacts one step of the process, though the company’s vision is to achieve entirely waterless tanning. For that, much more innovation will be required and many stakeholders in the leather making process will need to work together. If they do, the implications of water reduction – or, ultimately, elimination – will also be felt in other key areas of the sustainability agenda.

Using less water results in lower energy costs and creates a tanning process that requires less expenditure on chemicals. Different aspects of sustainability work together to create savings. Nevertheless, transitioning to new systems and processes does come at a cost.

The total water footprint of the leather industry may seem inconsequential compared to an industry such as hydroelectric power, but leather tanning is one of the most water-intensive industries in the world, relative to its size, and critics will always point to the amount of wastewater it produces, often with a heavy pollutant load. Around 95% of the water used by leather producers is subsequently discharged and forwarded for purification, with the remaining 5% evaporating during the production process.

Increasingly stringent environmental legislation around the world will force the industry to look at water usage, particularly from the point of view of contaminants in wastewater, so tanneries will need to start considering the technologies that are emerging to reduce water usage and improve water management. The solutions are there, but they come at a cost. So, the industry will need to look beyond the upfront costs and towards the savings that can be made further down the line.

You can read the original content HERE.

Round table on the biodegradability of leather, organized by Leather Cluster Barcelona

Content published by: Leather Cluster Barcelona

On February 28th, the Leather Cluster Barcelona organized a round table on the biodegradability of leather at the Adoberia Bella in Igualada.

The day generated great interest among the leather industry, bringing together more than 40 people. The event was welcomed by Jordi Vidal, Executive Director of Leather Cluster Barcelona, ​​who thanked the audience and the participation of the speakers for reflecting on one of the major current issues in the leather sector.

Before starting the round table and as an introduction to it, Vidal explained the project that the Puma brand will carry out next May in Germany. Puma will test its biodegradable sneakers on 500 people. They are expected to wear the shoes for six months and then return them to Puma, which will test their biodegradability in the controlled environment of an industrial composting plant.

The speakers then presented different projects and initiatives to expand knowledge about the biodegradability of leather and to assess how biodegradable and compostable leather is compared to other materials.

The round table consisted of:

  • Anna Bacardit from (A3 Leather Innovation Center)
  • Olga Ballús (Chromogeny)
  • Salvador Esquerra (Quimser)
  • Jordi Escabros (Trumpler)
  • Michael Costello (Stahl)

During the interventions of the different speakers, such interesting topics were discussed as the definitions of biodegradability and compostability, what conditions and requirements a leather must meet to be perfectly compostable, the importance of time as a key parameter when talking about biodegradability or differences in biodegradability and compostability of natural leather and treated leather.

The presentation of different business experiences on biodegradability also helped to reflect from the point of view of the motivations of consumers when making their purchases: are buyers just looking for sustainability?

The day ended with an open debate among the attendees in which the importance of the cluster being able to lead and drive a project on the biodegradability of leather with different companies and agents of the value chain of the leather industry. A project that can provide information and value to estimate with scientific rigor in what conditions and time limits are biodegradable and compostable different leather types and what comparative differences we find in terms of biodegradability between leather and synthetics and new materials.

Leather Cluster Barcelona is an environment of competitive cooperation to promote transversal and transformative strategic projects with the aim of boosting the ecosystem of the Catalan leather sector. The cluster is an accredited entity within the Catalonia Clusters program and has the support of ACCIÓ.

You can read the original content HERE.

Leather and the consumer

Content published by: Leather Naturally

New research uncovers the consumer understanding of leather and its place in a society committed to making better choices for the environment. The pandemic and graphic images showing the effects of climate change are having an impact on consumer behaviour. Attitudes and habits are changing at pace and so Leather UK, Leather Naturally and the Institute for Creative Leather Technologies (ICLT) have collaborated in the commissioning of research to better understand consumer knowledge around leather and its origins as a by-product of the food industry.

The result is a complete document that answers different questions that can help to better understand the current consumer mentality. Some of the topics discussed are the following.

What is ‘vegan leather’?

The lack of knowledge was surprising. More than half (54%) or the 2,000 respondents did not know what ‘vegan leather’ is made from, but 74% agreed that ‘it should be easy to see what I am buying and that labelling should not be misleading.’

Where does leather come from?

Leather is a by-product of the meat industry, which if not used would go to waste, however only 24% of those surveyed were aware of this fact.

Leather is valued for its quality and longevity

What is clear is that consumers who own and use leather value it for its positive benefits, with 67% saying it could be trusted to last a lifetime and 53% citing its comfort and practicality as reasons to buy.

The move to slow fashion

The report also investigates the world leather exists in, by exploring emerging purchase behaviours as well as attitudes to new forms of consumption, such as rental and pre-loved, currently making headlines in fashion, homeware and other industries. It examines a new age of thrift, a ‘make do and mend’ culture and the encouraging signs of a move away from fast, disposable fashion and consumer goods.

These trends bode well for a high-quality material like leather, which lasts a lifetime.

The document can be downloaded HERE.

And you can read the original content HERE.

Genuine leather, key in reducing the environmental footprint of the fashion industry

Original content posted by: RealLeather.

The enormous environmental impact of the fashion industry has been highlighted by research by the UK’s Royal Society for Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce (RSA).  It found that half (49 per cent) of 100,000 sampled products from online retailers were made entirely of new plastics. Low cost and disposable, these can quickly end up in landfill.

As consumers look at sustainability, the Leather and Hide Council of America (LHCA) is campaigning to see the millions of surplus hides, currently burnt or thrown away, used instead to deliver long lasting leather goods. It sets out some of the key figures in its new video short that can be viewed below.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change calculates that the fashion industry produces 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions, an impact compounded by pollution caused by production of synthetic materials which ranges from chemical waste to microplastics. The US leather industry uses 83% of the hides from dairy and meat, some 27.5 million hides per year, and is committed to ensuring that the remaining 17% (5.5 million) are not burnt or sent to landfill but used to make clothing or shoes.

You can read the original post HERE.